


The Consequences of Life

by JGC5436



Category: Kuroshitsuji : The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World - Iwasaki/Mori/Mari, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2018-12-13 00:57:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11748777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JGC5436/pseuds/JGC5436
Summary: Alan Humphries has lived his whole life in the hospital. Diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease, he lives everyday fearing it may be his last. Being constantly in bed has taken it's toll on him as he's not allowed in the outside world. Until one day, his life will change forever.Eric Slingby is a worker at a medical examination facility. Constantly given overtime from his boss, Eric is constantly stressed and is given little time to relax. But when his boss gives him an errand to a nearby hospital, he soon realizes that he's gonna need more time off than there is to offer.EricxAlanAU(Also posted on Wattpad under the same username)





	1. Chapter 1: Overtime

{Eric Pov}

I sit at my desk, filling out another report on our most recent autopsy. The death was by stabbing. That's like the third stabbing case this week. It's unfortunate as well. The woman had a husband and two kids. I almost feel bad for the family. But the job comes with zero attachment to those who die. At least, according to William.

William is my boss. He takes his job the most serious than anyone else. Sometimes, too seriously. He likes to give us all overtime at the office just to make sure all our desks our clean for tomorrow's list of autopsies. Some days, I don't blame him. We have a lot of work and sure it's a pain, but at least it's done and out of the way. Other days, I wanna kill him. Some times, the work load is too heavy that he'll keep us till like eleven o'clock at night. And my shift starts at seven thirty, everyday. Death stops for no one, you know.

I sign off on the last autopsy report of the day as I slam my pen on my desk and slide the paper in the "Completed" box. I stretch my arms above my head and yawn as I look over to see William leave his office. He's walking over to me with a plastic bag with something in it. Oh no. What could he possibly have me do at this time of night? And I'm almost done with my shift! UGH!

"Slingby," he says.

"Yeah boss?" I reply leaning back in my chair slightly.

"I need you to run an errand for me," he says, "I need you to deliver this to a friend of mine at the Nikishiko Memorial Hospital."

"And you can't do it yourself, because?" I ask, "Come on, boss. My shift is almost over, I'm tired, and my only day off this month is tomorrow."

"Well, I figured since you're done with your paperwork, I picked you since everyone else is so busy with there's," he tells me, "And besides, I'm still swamped with my own paperwork."

For once, I wished that I had more paperwork.

"Alright, fine," I say taking the bag off his hands, "What's the dudes name?"

"Alan Humphries," he says, "He should be in the hospice care unit."

"Hospice care?" I ask, "He's in that bad of condition?"

"Unfortunately," he says, "He's been in there for a while."

"How long is a while?" I ask.

"The past five months," he says.

"Shouldn't they have taken him out of there since he's been in there for that long?" I ask, "Doesn't it show that he's fighting back?"

"These are questions I can not answer as I do not know them myself," he says.

"Okay," I say, "But you owe me one."

"I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Slingby," he says turning on his heels and begins to walk back to his office, but stops at the front of his door, "And Slingby, please. The man's going through some hard times. Just...try to keep him company for tonight...And DON'T do anything to stress him out."

"Whatever you say, boss," I say getting up off my chair and walking over to the coat rack.

"Thank you," he says opening the door and entering his office, closing it behind him.

I grab my jacket and slide it on. I also throw on my leather gloves and black scarf. It is February after all. I make my way out of the office and into the hallway. I walk all the way to the elevator and press the "down" arrow. Suddenly, I hear footsteps running down the hall. I look over to see Ronald running to catch up to me.

"Hey," he says out of breath, "Thanks for waiting for me."

"No problem," I say. The elevator opens as we step inside. I press the "first floor" button as the doors close and start to bring us down.

"So..." Ronald says, "You wanna hit up the bar with me and a friend of mine? It is Friday after all."

"Can't," I say, "Have to run a stupid errand for William."

"Oh," he says, "Where?"

"To the Nikishiko Memorial Hospital," I say, "I need to give this to a man named Alan Humphries."

"Alan Humphries...Never heard of him," he says, "What does William have to do with a man in the hospital?"

"Don't know," I say, "Maybe they're friends or something..."

"Maybe," he says. The elevator doors open as we both step out. We walk down another hallway and make our way out of the building.

"Well, see ya!" Ronald says heading a different direction than me.

"See you Sunday," I say.

I walk down the snow covered sidewalk as I approach my car. I grab my keys out of my pocket and unlock it as I step in, closing the door behind me. I pull out my iPhone and go to Google maps. I look up the hospital address and start the car. I make my way down the main road and onto the interstate. 

As I'm traveling, I look at the clock. Quarter after nine. I wonder how long the visitor hours are until. I drive on the interstate for about five minutes and get off at the exit I needed. I make my way down the road and finally see the hospital. Hallelujah! I find a parking space in the hospice unit and turn the car off. I grab the package and make my way out of the car and to the building.

I enter the building and are greeted by a nurse behind the front desk. She's a fairly tall, brown hair, pale skin, and brown eyes.

"Hello!" she says, "Are you here to visit a patient?"

"Yes," I say, "On behalf of William Spears."

"So I assume you want to see Mr. Humphries?" she asks.

"That's correct," I say.

"Alright," she says handing me a visitor pass, "This is your visitor pass. The hours end at ten o'clock, but don't be suprised if Alan would want you to stay. Follow me."

She gets up from behind the counter and escorts me down a numerous set of hallways and to room five-three-one. She then knocks on the door.

"Mr. Humphries?" she says, "You have a visitor."

"Okay," I hear faintly. 

The nurse opens the door and walks into a dim room. I enter in the room to see a man laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to numerous monitors, IVs, and a small breathing tube around his face and in his nose. He has brown hair, thin rimmed glasses, and green eyes. His whole body looks weak and fragile as I can faintly see some veins in his arms. He looks familiar to me,

Why do I feel like I know him?

"Who is this, Elanora?" he asks quietly, almost inaudible.

"This is..." she begins.

"Eric," I help her.

"Eric," she says, "He comes on behalf of William."

"Alright," he says.

"Would you like me to stay, Mr. Humphries?" she asks.

"No," he says, "I can always call you if I need you."

"Alright," she says bowing, "Call me if you need me." She then takes her leave as I'm now alone with Alan. The first couple seconds were silent and awkward. But then, Alan speaks.

"Well?" he says as I turn to him, "Take a seat. I don't bite." He gives a small smile as a grab a nearby chair and sit next to the bed.

"So, you came for William?" he asks.

"Yeah, he kinda got caught up with paperwork," I say, "Today was a really busy day at the office."

"You...work with William?" he asks shifting in his bed a little, propping himself up into a slouched sitting position.

"Yeah," I say, "He's my boss."

"I used to work for him," he says looking down at his twiddling thumbs, "Until I got sick..."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says, "However, I never saw you before. When were you hired?"

What if I worked with him and I just don't remember?! I have to change some things around.

"September eighth," I lie. He chuckles slightly.

"The day I was admitted," he says, "How ironic...What is your name again?"

"Eric Slingby," I say.

"Ah, yes," he says looking at me, "William has told me a lot about you."

"Really?" I say, "Like what?"

"Well..." he says, "It's a little hazy, But he said that you get the job done, but struggle to get it done. You're constantly given overtime by the lack of getting work done, but I've heard your autopsy reports are perfect and detailed."

"Hm," I say, "That sounds about right."

"I didn't offend you?" he asks.

"Not at all," I say.

"Oh! Okay," he says, "So...what did William bring me?"

"Oh yeah," I say handing him the bag, "Here you go."

His shaking arms take the bag off my hands and sets it on his lap. He tries to open the bag, but he's shaking way to much to get the knot out. He stops and laughs slightly.

"Do you mind, uh...helping me?" he says.

"Oh yeah," I say, "Sure." I reach over and untie the knot for him. I look inside to find a small box of chocolates and batch of Ericas.

"Thanks," he says, "Sorry about that."

"Why would you be sorry?" I say.

"I'm constantly needing assistance on simple things I should be able to do," he says, "Even though this sickness I have doesn't affect my strength, the smallest amount of stress can set me off. So I gave up on even trying to do things that involve stress, therefore making myself weaker everyday."

"May I ask what you have?" I ask.

Silence.

"I'm sorry!" I say putting up my hands in defense, "I shouldn't have asked. We only just met and it's none of my-"

"No," he cuts me off, lifting up his hand slightly, telling me to stop, "You work for William. I can trust you to keep this private and low key."

"Are you sure?" I ask, "I don't want to stress you out."

"It's fine," he says. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in and out.

"I have this thing called Coronary Artery Disease. This happens when the arteries that supply blood to heart muscle become hardened and narrowed. This is due to the buildup of cholesterol and other material, or plaque, on their inner walls. This buildup is called atherosclerosis. As it grows, less blood can flow through the arteries. As a result, the heart muscle can't get the blood or oxygen it needs. "

"Wow," I say, "That must be rough."

"Yeah," he says. All of a sudden, he brings hand up to his chest and clenches it. His face scrunches up and his breathing becomes shallow.

"Alan?" I say.

"Don't worry," he says, "This...ugh...is normal. Happens...all the...ugh...time."

His breathing picks up as he clenches his chest harder and sweat runs down his face. His breathing gets shorter and shorter, shallower and shallower.

"Alan?!" I say standing up, rushing to his side, "I'll call the nurse." I press the "Call" button to summon the nurse. I place my left hand on his chest and my right on his back. He places his hand over mine and clenches it tightly. But I ignore it, as I let him do whatever helps him.

"Try to breathe," I say calmly, "In...and out. Don't freak out. Everything is fine. No worries."

He stagger breathes in and stagger breathes out at first, but then his breathing starts to regulate. I start to rub his back as he looks up at me, face drenched in sweat. I took my left hand and brushed his bangs away from his eyes. 

"I'll be back in a minute," I say, "Keep breathing."

I rush to the bathroom and get a washcloth, running it under cold water. I wring it out and go back to Alan to find him laying down, hand over his chest, but not clenching it. I fold the washcloth into a rectangle and place it on his forehead, under his bangs. He smiles at me as his hand slides off his chest.

Suddenly the door busts open. It is Elanora.

"Mr. Humphries!" she says rushing over, but then stopped, "Wait...his breathing is regular." I look up to see the breathing monitor regulated.

"Did you...stop the attack?" she asks me.

"I guess I did," I say.

"That never happens!" she says, "Normally, these fits happen for long periods of time. When did this start?"

"About two minutes ago," I say as he grabs my left hand and holds it in his hand.

"Thank you," he says, "I've never been through an attack that came and went so quickly."

"You're welcome, I guess," I say. And with that, he drifts off to sleep. Immediately, I panic. What if he doesn't wake up?!

"Is this normal?!" I say.

"Yes," she says, "He usually falls asleep after these attacks. They drain all the energy out of him. Or what little he has. Such a shame really."

"Ma'am, if you don't mind me asking," I say, "Why was Alan admitted into hospice?"

"His doctor, Dr. Nikishiko herself, gave up on him," she tells me, "When she first brought him in, she thought it would be an easy fix. She gave him an Angioplasty and it fixed his disease...for about a month. The plaque kept building up and overtime, Mr. Humphries started to deteriorate. Physically and mentally."

"After administering the third Angioplasty, Dr. Nikishiko delcared there was nothing else she could do. Since the medical bills piled up and his insurance couldn't keep up, he was sent to hospice care in November, where he has stayed ever since."

"You know, every nurse has seen him as a lost cause. Everyday, they see it as his last and they treat him as it is. But I see him as my diamond in the ruff. He's lived longer than any patients I tended to. And because of that, I make sure he's comfortable, check on him every hour, etc. I make sure he's my number one priority everyday."

"That's...really nice of you," I say.

"Hey," she says blushing slightly, "It's kinda my job."

I look at the clock for the time. Ten o'clock.

"It looks like I should be leaving," I say releasing the grip on Alan's hand. As I was making my way out the room, I was stopped by Elanora.

"Please, Mr. Eric," she says, "I encourage you to stay the night."

"I don't think I'm allowed to do that," I say, "Besides, I don't have a spare change of clothes."

"How far is your house from here?" 

"Umm..." I say checking my phone, "5 miles. Why?"

"You go get what you need and I'll make sure you get back in," she says, "I usually stay with him overnight, but my shift ends at midnight tonight. And I can't go over my hours."

I think it over in my head a little bit. 

This woman really sounds like she needs my help, but wouldn't be against the rules to just stay here?

"What time will you be back?" I ask.

"Eight," I say, "Right before he usually wakes up around eight thirty, but he can wake up at anytime due to his attack."

"Alright," I say, "Let me go get my things."

"Great," she says, "I'll be at the front desk. Also, I'll put you down as a family member. That way the hours won't apply to you."

"That's unneeded," I say.

"But I insist!" she says, Now hurry up! Before my shift ends."

"Right," I say leaving the room. 

I rush down the halls and out of the hospital. I get in my car and almost floor it to my house. Looking at the sights on the interstate, I take in how beautiful the lights are at night. I've never really noticed the little things in life. I'm the kind of guy that takes things in as the go.

Once I get to my house, I rush inside and run up the stairs to my room. I change into a white t-shirt, black jeans, black converse, and slide on a grey sweatshirt. I also grab a small bag and fill it with my toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, and glasses cleaner. I leave my room, rush downstairs, and get out the door. I hop in the car, turn on the ignition, leave for the road again.

As I speed down the interstate, I check the clock. Ten thirty-five. Not bad. I once again get off the interstate and make my way into the hospital parking lot. I take a deep breath as I turn off the ignition and get out of the car. I shove my hands into my pockets as I enter the hospital. Thankfully, Elanora is still there. She hands me a pink pass instead of the normal visitor pass.

"This means that you are a family member," she says, "Therefore, you won't get kicked out in the middle of the night."

"Thank you, Elenora," I say, "For everything."

"You're welcome," she says, "I brought a collapsible cot from a joint room if you don't want to sleep in the chair."

"Thanks," I say. 

I walk down the hall and approach Alan's room. I knock on the door. Silence. I quietly turn the door knob and enter his room. I look at him to find him still asleep. His heart monitor beeping at a slow pace. His chest rises and falls in a consistent pattern. I find the cot on Alan's left side. I grab the blanket off the chair and spread it out on the cot. I lay down and look up to see Alan's arm hanging off the bed slightly. I shift onto my back and lightly grasp his hand. I smile slightly as I drift off to sleep.  
~~~~~  
Hello there! For those who don't know me, my name is JGC5436. And welcome to the cruise line that is the AlanxEric ship. You can expect some bumpy patches along the way, but it'll mostly be smooth sailing. I'll try to update as best as I can, but with my senior year of high school approaching, it may be difficult to update chapters. So bare with me and as always:

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	2. Chapter Two: The Day We Met

{Alan Pov}

"Mr. Humphries," I hear, "Time to wake up. You slept all day again! And you missed dinner!"

I open my eyes to see Elanora and the right side of my bed, shaking me slightly.

"Hey, Elanora," I say with a rapsy voice, "Whoops! I didn't mean to sleep all day."

"Alright," she says walking over to my side and grabbing the clipboard from the basket above my lamp as I clear my throat, "You know what time it is."

"Questionare time," I say, "Yes, I know."

"On a scale of one to ten, one being absolutely terrible and ten being the best you ever felt in your life, how do you feel?" she asks.

"Like a five and a half," I reply.

"Are you in any pain?" she asks.

"My IV arm, as usual," I reply, "These bruises really never seem to go away."

"Nothing some pain killers can't help," she says, "Any symptoms related to your illness appear in the last twenty four hours?

"No," I say, "At least I don't think so." 

"Perfect," she says, "That's it for the today. Now, what would you like for dinner?"

"A muffin, like usual," I say.

"You know, Mr. Humphries, you need more nutrients in you diet," she says placing the clipboard back in the basket, "That's why you're weak all the time. And you already had a muffin today!"

"I know," I say bowing my head, "It's just...I'm not hungry."

She sighs and begins to rub my back.

"I know it's been rough these past couple of days," she says, "But remember what I told you. I will make sure you live and fight until the bitter end. I'm not like those other nurses. I make sure that each day you live it to the fullest. That's my motto with every patient I recieve."

I smile a little and look up at her.

"Thank you," I say, "For everything that you've done for me thus far."

"You're welcome," she says, "Now, which kind of muffin would you like. Pistachio like usual?"

"With butter?" I ask her.

"Of course," she says bowing, "I shall be back in a moment."

"Take your time," I say as she leaves my room. I stare at the ceiling for a bit and contemplate how I got here.

"Hey, boss," I say waving at William.

"Hello, Mr. Humphries," he says to me, "How are things today?"

"Fine," I say, "Thanks for asking. So how many autopsy reports do we have today?"

"Well, for you, two," he says.

"That's it?" I ask, "Usually there's a lot more."

"I guess not many people died today," he says, "Which is good I guess."

"Alright," I say, "Well, I'll get to it."

"You do that," he says. I walk to my desk to be greeted by Grell.

"Hello, gorgeous!" he says, "How are things?"

"Mr. Sutcliff, I would like to make sure I don't have overtime today," I say, "So if you don't mind leaving me-"

"That's MISS Sutcliff to you!" he shouts in my ear, "God! No one respects my gender preference!"

"I'm simply calling you what your ACTUAL gender is," I say.

"Well, get that out of your head," he says.

Suddenly, a small pain in my chest starts to emerge. I place my hand over my heart as the pain starts to increase. My breathing starts to pick up slightly.

"Man, Alan, are you alright?" Grell asks me.

"Yeah," I say, "Get these all the time. Not a big deal."

Suddenly the pain gets worse as black spots blind my vision. I clench my chest harder as I begin to get light headed and dizzy. I feel myself fall of the chair and hit my head off the ground. Suddenly, my hearing becomes quieter as I hear Grell panic.

"William!" he says, "Call an ambulance!"

A fairly tall man, a mix of blond and brown haired, and thin rimmed glasses knelt next to me, shouting my name and shaking me roughly.

And I don't remember anything after that, as I blacked out before the ambulance ever came. But I do remember the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

I open my eyes to realize I must have fallen asleep. I look over to see Elanora once again at my right side, looking at me worringly.

"Mr. Humphries, are you okay?" she asks feeling my forehead with the back of her right hand. I can feel how cold it is compared to my head.

"I'm fine," I say, "Just a dream. Must've fallen back asleep."

"Just making sure you're okay," she says pulling back her hand, "You were kinda moving in your sleep."

"I was?" I ask.

"Yeah," she says, "And your IV came out."

"Oh," I say looking at my arm to see the IV has indeed fallen out. I slowly lift my arm up and give it to her. "Well, here."

She takes my arm gently and reaches over me to grab the fallen IV needle. She inserts it back into my arm and then tapes it back down with medical tape. I twitch slightly at the pain at first, but it goes away and I don't feel it, like usual.

"There," she says patting it down, "All better."

"Thanks," I say.

"I brought the muffin you wanted," she says giving it to me. I take it from her and place it on the table in front of me. I take the muffin liner off and break it in half.

"Do you want some?" I ask, turning to Elanora.

"Oh! I'm fine," she says, "I already ate."

"You sure?" I say. She takes a deep breath in and out.

"I guess a little bit can't hurt," she says reaching over to me, spliting the half even smaller and eats it.

I spread the butter onto the one half of the muffin and eat it in small bites. I look over to see Elanora writing down something on my clipboard as she's eating.

"Calorie intake?" I ask.

"Yup!" she says popping the "p".

"How many?" I ask.

"Only two hundred and ten at the most," she says disappointingly.

"I'm sorry," I say.

"Don't be," she says with a smile, "Like you said, you're not hungry at the moment. I understand."

"Thanks, Elanora," I say finishing the muffin, "Anything in the news today?"

"Yeah," she says, "The Jack the Ripper case is still in effect."

"That's still going on?" I ask, "Who even took up the case anyways?"

"FBI investigators Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis," she replies, "They've been on the case for a while now."

"Isn't Ciel like new though?" I ask.

"He is," she replies, "That's why Sebastian is with him. According to the paper, they've been friends since the academy. But since Ciel was much weaker, he took a bit longer than Sebastian did to graduate."

I chuckle at the thought of a frail, four foot eleven man becoming a cop. But I guess anybody can get hired anywhere in today's society.

"So, how's your life?" I ask.

"Oh! Fine," she says, "You know, just, taking care of you and my cats. The usual."

"How are they doing?" I ask.

"Well, Katou is getting a little old and slow, while Gregory hasn't been peppier in his entire life!" she tells me.

I laugh slightly as I finish my muffin.

"So what's today's events?" I ask.

"Well, it's Friday and you know what that means," she says.

"William comes to visit?" I ask.

"Yep!" she says, "Your memory is getting better, Mr. Humphries."

"Please, Elanora, it's Alan," I say.

"Sorry...Alan," she says, "I usually talk to a patient properly. But, I'll try to remember to call you Alan."

"Thanks," I say.

"You're welcome," she says. She looks at her watch and gasps.

"I'm so sorry, Alan," she says standing up, "But I must be going. I have other patients to tend to."

"It's fine, Elanora," I say, "Go do your job. I'll be fine."

She stands up, bows in respect, and walks out of my room. I sigh slightly as I look out the window. All I can see is that it's dark outside and snow covered trees. It's also snowing outside. I wish I could be able to go outside and enjoy the snow, but because of my condition, I'm too weak to even walk to the window and back. I sigh as tears fill my eyes.

Why did I have to have Coronary Artery Disease? Why couldn't I just be normal?!

I pull my legs to my chest and fold my arms on my kneecaps. I bury my head in my arms and begin sobbing uncontrollably. I can hear my heart monitor begin to beep faster and faster. My breathing has gone from normal to stagger. Finally, my heart monitor has gone to a fast enough tempo that the nurse is summoned. I hear the door slam open as a feel a hand on my back, rubbing it in circles. I can tell it's Elanora.

"Breathe, Alan," she says, "In........and out........In........and out."

I follow Elanora's instructions as my breathing slows down and becomes regulated. Tears are still falling from my eyes and I look up at her.

"Alan? What's wrong?" she asks wiping my tears away.

"It's not fair, Elanora," I say shakingly, "Why me? Why did it have to be me? Why can't I just be normal?!"

"Oh Alan!" she says kneeling down to my level, "Everyone is different in there own way."

"But why did I have to be too different?" I ask, "Why can't I walk? Why can't I breathe on my own? Why am I too weak to even stand?"

"There some things in life I can't answer, Alan," she says, "Though, I wish I could. If I could, I would fix you in a heartbeat."

All of a sudden, another nurse comes in.

"Elanora, you mind going to the front desk?" the nurse asks, "There's someone who would like to take advange of the visiting hours."

"I'll be right there," she says as the nurse leaves.

"I think William is here!" she sings.

"Well, don't just stand there," I say chuckling, "Get him in here."

"Right!" she says bowing and leaving the room. 

I turn down the lights and turn on the lamp next to me so that I'm not in complete darkness. I don't like people seeing me as skinny and weak as I look under the fluorescent lights. Besides, I get a headache from the lights after a while.

Suddenly, I hear a knock at the door.

"Mr. Humphries?" Elanora says, "You have a visitor."

And the formal titles are back...ugh...

"Okay," I say quietly.

The door opens to reveal Elanora and someone I don't seem to recall. He's rather tall, wears a black suit, thin rimmed glasses, and blond and brown hair. The brown parts are french braided sorta like dreads.

Why do I feel like I know him?

"Who is this, Elanora?" I asks quietly, almost shy like.

"This is..." she begins.

"Eric," he helps her.

"Eric," she says, "He comes on behalf of William."

An employee of William. Alright, I'll give it a try...

"Alright," I say.

"Would you like me to stay, Mr. Humphries?" she asks.

"No," I say, "I can always call you if I need you."

"Alright," she says bowing, "Call me if you need me." She then takes her leave as I'm now alone with Eric. At least, I think that's his name. The first couple seconds were silent and awkward. I can feel that he didn't know what to say to me as he's looking at the ground. But then, I build up the confidence to speak up.

"Well?" I say, "Take a seat. I don't bite." I give a small smile as he grabs a nearby chair and sit next to me.

"So, you came for William?" I ask shyly.

"Yeah, he kinda got caught up with paperwork," he says, "Today was a really busy day at the office."

"You...work with William?" I ask shifting in my bed a little, propping myself up into a slouched sitting position. I begin to show interest in the conversation.

"Yeah," he says "He's my boss."

"I used to work for him," I say looking down at my hands, twiddling my thumbs, "Until I got sick..."

"Really?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say, "However, I never saw you before. When were you hired?"

He stops and thinks for a minute.

"September eighth," he says. 

Lies...

I chuckle slightly at the thought of actually working with him.

"The day I was admitted," I say, "How ironic...What is your name again?"

"Eric Slingby," he says.

Eric Slingby...Why do I know that name?...And from where?...Oh right! William. Yeah...William...

"Ah, yes," I say looking at him, "William has told me a lot about you."

"Really?" he asks showing interest, "Like what?"

"Well..." I say, "It's a little hazy, But he said that you get the job done, but struggle to get it done. You're constantly given overtime by the lack of getting work done, but I've heard your autopsy reports are perfect and detailed."

"Hm," he says, "That sounds about right."

Wait! I didn't offend him? I usually offend people saying stuff like that?

"I didn't offend you?" I ask.

"Not at all," he says.

"Oh! Okay," I say, "So...what did William bring me?"

"Oh yeah," he says putting the bag out in front of him, "Here you go."

My shaking arms take the bag off his hands and set it on my lap. I try to open the bag, but I'm shaking way to much too much to even get started. I stop and laugh slightly.

Why do I even try?

"Do you mind, uh...helping me? I ask with embarrassment. 

"Oh yeah," he says, "Sure." He reaches over and unties the knot for me. I blush at how he made it looks so easy.

"Thanks," I say, "Sorry about that."

"Why would you be sorry?" he asks.

"I'm constantly needing assistance on simple things I should be able to do," I say, "Even though this sickness I have doesn't affect my strength, the smallest amount of stress can set me off. So I gave up on even trying to do things that involve stress, therefore making myself weaker everyday."

"May I ask what you have?" he asks.

Silence. Absolute silence. I think about whether or not I should tell him.

"I'm sorry!" he says putting up my hands in defense, "I shouldn't have asked. We only just met and it's none of my-"

"No," I cut him off, lifting my hand up slightly, "You work for William. I can trust you to keep this private and low key."

"Are you sure?" he asks, "I don't want to stress you out."

"It's fine," I say. I close my eyes and takes a deep breath in and out, mentally preparing what I'm about to tell him.

"I have this thing called Coronary Artery Disease. This happens when the arteries that supply blood to heart muscle become hardened and narrowed. This is due to the buildup of cholesterol and other material, or plaque, on their inner walls. This buildup is called atherosclerosis. As it grows, less blood can flow through the arteries. As a result, the heart muscle can't get the blood or oxygen it needs. "

"Wow," he says, "That must be rough."

"Yeah," I say. All of a sudden, I feel a slight pain in my chest. I shake it off as the pain doesn't want to go away, and instead builds up. I clench my chest in pain as I try to breathe normally, but failing miserably.

"Alan?" he asks showing concern.

"Don't worry," I say, trying to hide the fact that I'm in pain, "This...ugh...is normal. Happens...all the...ugh...time."

My breathing starts to accelerate as I clench my chest harder. I can hear my heart monitor begin to pick up as my breathing monitor starts beeping, meaning I'm hitting dangerous levels.

"Alan?!" he says standing up, rushing to my side, "I'll call the nurse." 

I wish he didn't. I want to take care of this myself. I don't want to be a burden. He presses the "Call" button to summon the nurse, most likely Elanora. He places his left hand on my chest, pressing it down lightly, and his right on my back, also pressing down lightly. I place my hand over his and clench it tightly. And to be honest, it actually started to help me.

"Try to breathe," he tells me, "In...and out. Don't freak out. Everything is fine. No worries."

I listen to his instructions as I try to deep breathe. I clench his hand harder as breathing begins to hurt, but suddenly, my breathing begins to slow down. I feel a bead of sweat run down the left side of my face. In fact, my whole face is drenched in sweat I look at Eric to see a smile plastered over a worried and concerned face.

"I'll be back in a minute," he says, "Keep breathing."

He rushes into my bathroom as I clench my chest, but all of a sudden, my vision becomes blurry. I lay down carefully on my bed as my hand lays flat on my chest now. I see Eric come out of the bathroom with my white washcloth. He walks over to me and folds the washcloth into a rectangle. He lifts my bangs up and places the washcloth on my forehead. My body officially relaxes and I smile as my hand slides off my chest and rests at my side. 

Suddenly the door busts open. It is Elanora.

"Mr. Humphries!" she says rushing over, but then stopped, "Wait...his breathing is regular." I look up to see that my heart and breathing monitor has become regulated.

"Did you...stop the attack?" she asks Eric.....I assume.

"I guess I did," he says. Suddenly, my eyelids become heavy.

Great...the attack drained my energy...again...

"That never happens!" she says, "Normally, these fits happen for long periods of time. When did this start?"

"About two minutes ago," he says. I lift my arm up and grab Eric's right hand.

"Thank you," I say, "I've never been through an attack that came and went so quickly."

My body goes limp as all my energy has been drained out of me. I let my eyes close and blackout.  
~~~~~  
Hello there! Well, good news! I recently broke my keyboard and I had to type my stories on my iPod. But thankfully, my tablet has a USB port that I can plug physical keyboards in. And it just so happens that my keyboard came in today. And it works. Yay! That means I'll be able to type fanfiction more efficiently. Yay! Now, I have a system. Right now, I just finished chapter three of this story. Every time I finish one chapter ahead of the chapter I want to upload, the one I want to upload is uploaded. That way, if I need more time pushing out chapters, I have a backup to not leave you guys hanging. So enough babble. And as always:

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	3. Chapter 3: The Day Off

{Eric Pov}

I wake up to a see that I'm laying on my back. I'm staring at a white ceiling as I try to remember where I am. I turn on my right side to see that I'm holding someone's hand and the bed next to me is up a little higher than mine.

Oh that's right...I'm still at the hospital...with...Alan...HOLY SHIT I'M IN A HOSPITAL WITH SOMEONE I DON'T EVEN KNOW!

I bolt up to a sitting position as I wince in pain. Must've slept the wrong way 'cause my back hurts like hell. I look over to see Alan sleeping peacefully. I look at his monitors to find them stable and normal. I sigh with relief as I see Alan's eyes begin to twitch. He shifts a little bit in his bed and groans in pain I assume. He opens his eyes and jumps a little at the sight of me.

"Wait!...Eric?" he asks, "What are you doing here?"

"I, my friend, was asked by your lovely nurse to stay the night with you," I say.

"But why?" he asks, "No one ever stays with me. No one except Elanora..."

"Elanora suggested I stay with you since she couldn't last night," I say, "She said staying here meant she would go over her hours for the day, which they don't allow."

"Oh yeah," he says, "Right. So you stayed with me?"

"Yeah," I say swinging my legs to the right side of my bed, closest to Alan, "She brought this cot in and I held your hand until I fell asleep."

I probably shouldn't have said that...

Instantly, Alan blushes as he covers his face with his hands.

"You.....You didn't have to," he says.

"You're right," I say, "But I believe in karma, both good and bad. So I'm just doing the right thing."

"Well...Thank you," he says revealing his face. His face is not red with embarrassment as it was before, but instead pink. He smiles slightly.

"Oh-uh...you're welcome," I say scratching the back of my head, "Not a big deal."

Suddenly, I hear a knock at the door.

"Alan, it's Elanora," the voice outside the door says, "Are you awake?"

"Yes," he says. The door opens to reveal Elanora with, presumingly, Alan's breakfast. But suddenly, another nurse comes in with another breakfast.

"Finally! You're awake in the morning for once!" Elanora says.

"Yeah," Alan says, "Enjoy it while it lasts."

Elanora laughs as she sets the tray down on Alan's table. The other nurse comes over to me with a tray of food and puts it out in front of her.

"Here!" she says, "Can't let you go hungry!"

"A-are you sure?" I ask.

"Yep!" she says.

"Well, thank you," I say taking the tray from her.

"You're welcome," she says bowing at me. 

She walks away and out of the room. Elanora remains in the room as I get up with my food and sit down at a table near the window. I look down to see what food was given to me. And let me say. For hospital food, I've never seen a better meal. French toast, mixed fruit, and OJ. 

Now why the hell is this considered "Hospital food"? Oh right...this is hospice care.....nevermind.

I take my time eating my food while I look at Alan picking at his.

"You know you gotta eat, right?" I asked with my mouth minorly stuffed.

"I'm not usually hungry at this time of the day," he says with his head down in guilt.

"You're not hungry at any time of the day," Elanora says, "Please eat? For me?"

"But...I'm not hungry..." he says quietly, almost inaudible.

"How about for me?" I say with a small smile, "Please Alan. You need to eat. Otherwise, you're gonna get weaker than you already are."

"I mean...........I guess.......I can try...." he says.

"That's the spirit!" Elanora says excitingly. 

She helps Alan cut his french toast and sits back down, smiling. I look at Alan as he tries to eat with a fork, but failing miserably. I place my utencils down and walk over to Alan's left side. I take the fork from Alan.

What the fuck am I doing?!...Keep calm, Eric...You're just...helping the guy out...yeah...

He blushes, knowing that I'm offering him help. And he accepts it. He eats the food off the fork as his face goes from pink to red.

"Aww!" Elanora says, "This is so cute!" Now I'm the one blushing. I kinda forgot she was in the room just then. Jesus! What was I thinking?! 

I continue feeding Alan until he finishes his whole breakfast. He looks down as he quietly says:

"Thank you."

"WOW!" Elanora says, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GOT HIM TO EAT HIS FOOD! THAT'S LIKE NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE! YOU ARE A MIRACLE WORKER!"

"I don't consider myself that," I say scratching the back of my head.

"Well, thank you," she says, "Now, Alan, I need to check your vitals."

"Go ahead," he says. Elanora takes the clipboard from the basket drilled into the wall about Alan"s lamp. She looks at his heart monitor, breathing monitor, and IV drip bag.

"Everything seems good at the moment," she says, "May have to change the drip later, though. Now, on a scale of one to ten, how do you feel?"

"Six and three fourths," he says.

"Alright," she says, "Any pain?"

"Um...I don't think so," he says unsure of himself, "If something comes up, I'll let you know."

"Alrighty then!" she says, "Eric, how long do you think you will be here?"

"Well, today's my day off, so I'm not sure how long I'll be here," I say, "But, by the looks of it, I may stay here for a good amount of my day." I look down at Alan to see him smiling.

"Alright," she says bowing, "I have paitents to tend to. I will be back in the afternoon for lunch."

"Okay, see you then," I say.

"Bye, Elanora," Alan says waving slightly. And with that, she leaves. There's silence in the room for a bit, but then, Alan breaks it.

"Hey," he says, "Mind getting me today's paper? It was with your breakfast instead of mine."

"Oh yeah, sure," I say. I walk over to wear I was sitting, grab the paper, and give it to Alan. He slowly opens it up to reveal today's top story.

"Hmmm," he says, "The Jack the Ripper case is STILL in effect. It's been a month since this case first started. I don't understand what's taking so long. Do you, Eric?"

"Ironically, I just did an autopsy on a victim of Jack the Ripper," I say.

"Really?!" he asks with his face lighting up, "Are organs really missing like the news is saying?"

"Yeah," I say.

"Wow!" he says, "I wish I was at work..."

"No you don't," I say, "William constantly gives us overtime. And because of this case, more autopsies are being taken in by us. Which means some of us can be staying at work until eleven."

"Yeah," Alan say, "But eventually, those numbers add up. And then you get paid for your overtime hours!"

"That's true." I say. Alan continues to read the article and I smile at him.

He's in need of a friend...No...A best friend...I can tell...He can't just be friends with William...Besides...he seems like a cute guy.....Wait, what?

"Eric?" Alan says, snapping me out of my daze.

"I'm here," I say blushing slightly, "Definitely here. Definitely heard what you said."

"Liar," he says with a smile and shaking his head.

"Sorry," I say, "I was just...thinking."

"About?" he asks.

Shit...What am I supposed to say?...I can't just tell him...Think, Eric!... 

"Um..." I say, "I don't even remember anymore."

"Oh, okay," he says, "Well, I was just talking about Ciel and Sebastian. They seem like they're getting too involved in the case."

"How so?" I ask.

"Well, they started investigating and interrogating family members of those who died," he tells me, "Ciel keeps accusing the wrong people and if it weren't enough, Sebastian and him are not in agreeance on who the killer is."

"Good to know they're getting along," I say sarcastically.

"I know, right?" he says.

"Hey, uh, Alan?" I ask.

"Yes, Eric?" he says turning to me with a smile.

"Are we, like, considered friends now?" I ask.

"Well, you kept me company all night. So I would think we had gotten to that point already," he says chuckling a little.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I say, "It's just...I felt awkward not knowing you...and then kept you company last night."

"Well, let's get to know each other a little more," Alan says, "Pull a questionare or something."

"Alright," I say. I pull out my phone and pull up Google Images. I pull up a Get to Know You challenge and save it to my photo library in hopes of me not burning through my data. I look up to see Alan smiling at me.

"Well, aren't you peppy today," I say.

"Well, I only get to see William on only one day of the week," he says, "So having a new face every once in a while is kinda nice."

"Glad to make you happy," I say smiling back, "Ready to start?"

"Whenever you are," he says. I pull up the challenge and read off the questions.

"What's your middle name?"

"Can't remember. My memory isn't the best. I'll ask Elanora later."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty eight."

"Alright. What is your birthday?"

"June twenty second."

"Zodiac Sign?"

"Cancer."

"Favorite color?"

"To be honest, pink."

"Why pink?"

"They're the color of Ericas."

"Oh yeah. Forgot. What's your lucky number?"

"Five."

"Do you have any pets?"

"Do stuffed animals count?"

"Sure." I laugh.

"I have this green stuffed cat named Hani." He reaches to the beside table and shows me the green cat.

"Cute," I say with a smile, "Where are you from?"

"Can't remember that either. It's been too long."

"How tall are you?"

"Five foot seven."

"Shoe size?"

He laughs as he tries to answer.

"Ten"

"How many pairs of shoes do you own?"

"What's with all the shoe questions?"

"I dunno. It's what the challenge is telling me to ask."

"Three. My dress shoes, my ones for work, and black converse." Same taste as me.

"What was your last dream about?"

"Can we save that one for the end?"

"Sure. What talents do you have?"

"Well, I can sing well, in my opinion."

"Are you psychic in anyway?"

"Nope. Not one bit."

"Favorite song?"

"Snowman, by Zoobuh and Cammie Mile. It's an english cover of the Vocaloid song under the same name."

"Favorite movie?"

"Tough one...I guess I don't really have a favorite. But my favorite genre is romantic comedies."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Okay. Who would be your ideal partner?" He blushes a little.

"Well...someone who is serious when they need to be, but can be funny and loving at the same time. I would also like them to be patient with me as my illness may get in the way of things. But at the end of the day, I would like someone who would love me for who I am and not just love me out of pity."

"Wow. That's really deep, Alan," I say astonished.

"Well, I'm just stating what my crippled heart wants," he says putting his left hand over his heart. I laugh slightly at his joke and he returns the laugh.

"Shall we continue?" I ask.

"Sure!" he says.

"Do you want children?"

"Adoption, yes. Sexual intercourse, not really."

"Do you want a church wedding?"

"Only if I can afford it."

"Are you religious?"

"Pray every night asking to keep me alive just a little longer." I smile.

"I'll skip this one as I already know the answer to this one."

"What's the question?"

"Have you ever been to the hospital?"

"Well, obviously."

"Have you ever got in trouble with the law?"

"Perfect record, so no."

"And have you met any celebrities?"

"Nope. Not a one."

"And that's it," I say.

"My turn?" he asks.

"Yep," I say handing him my phone. He sets in on the table in front of him so his shakingness doesn't drop my iPhone on accident.

"What is your middle name?"

"Never given one."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty nine."

"When is your birthday?"

"August eighth."

"Zodiac sigh?"

"Leo"

"What is your favorite color?"

"Grey."

"What is your lucky number?"

"One-oh-five"

"How tall are you?"

"Six foot."

"Do you have any pets?"

"I wish. I just don't have the time to take care of them."

"Where are you from?"

"Around here. Five miles south from here actually."

"What shoes size are you?"

"Fourteen. You know, I now realized how stupid that question is." We both laugh as we continue on with the questions.

"How many pairs of shoes do you own?"

"Lost count after five."

"What's the last dream that you had?"

"Okay, so I drempt that William took us on a vacation and it was so great to just seem him show his fun side and get drunk. But I woke up just as I went to bed in the dream."

"I can't see William ever getting drunk," he laughs

"Neither can I," I say in agreeance. 

"What talents do you have?"

"Well, I can sing as well, but it's not good at all."

"We'll have to duet sometime," he says.

"I'm down for that," I say as a grin appears on his face.

"Are you psychic in any way?"

"Nope. Though I wish."

"Favorite song?"

"Don't have one."

"Favorite movie?"

"Same as the last one."

"Who would be your ideal partner?"

Shit! I was banking on him not to ask that question! Think, Eric. Think!

"Well...I really want a partner that knows how to hang loose and have fun. Someone who I can laugh with and someone that would show concern when I'd be down. You know, the generic kind of partner. But I also want someone, like you said, that gets work done and has his serious moments. They don't always have to fake being happy, you know."

"Wow. It almost sounds like you were talking about me," he says. I blush to the point where my face is totally red.

"Really?" I say scratching the back of my head, "Cause I was just speaking what the mind and heart wants."

Silence...

"Anyways," Alan says, "Lets continue."

"Oh yeah," I say, "Right."

"Do you want children?"

"Sure. Maybe not now, but in the future."

"Do you want a church wedding?"

"I mean...I want it to feel official. So yeah."

"Are you religious."

"Sometimes, I question if there really is a god. But sometimes, I believe in miracles. So sometimes yes, and other times no."

"Alright. Have you ever been to the hospital?"

"Yeah. I slipped on ice while I was looking for a body at the crime scene. Ended up fracturing my arm and was in a sling for about three weeks."

"I guess you really live up to your last name."

Silence...and then laughter. We laughed about that joke for a solid fifteen seconds. Once we settle down, we continued on with the final questions.

"Have you ever got in trouble with the law?"

"Pulled over for speeding once, but that's about it."

"And have you met any celebrities?"

"Nope."

"Well, that's all of them," he says carefully giving my phone back to me, "I hope you learned a little bit more about me."

"Same here," I say, "But there's one question you didn't answer."

"Which one?" he asks nervously.

"The last dream you had," I say.

"Oh...right..." he says, "It wasn't really a dream...It was more of a flashback."

"Explain," I say.

"Well," he starts, "I came into work and said hello to William. He told me I had two autopsy reports to do and I was dumbfounded. I asked him to confirm that I only have the two reports. And he confirmed that I only had two reports. So I went to my desk to start right away...and Grell came over and greeted me. He complimented me on how handsome I was and started to kinda annoying me. So I told him to stop. But then, my chest started to hurt. I guess I was starting to get stress by him constantly annoying me. I clenched it as Grell was asking me if I was okay. But then, my vision became blurry and I fell off my chair and hit my head off the floor. I blacked out, but..."

"But what?" I ask.

"Someone," he tells me, "Someone that looks just like you. That...was the last person I saw before I blacked out."

I look at him in disbelief. I couldn't be there. I don't remember anything about him. But...I remember something. I look down at Alan's left wrist. There, on his wrist, was a small silver watch. I look down at my left wrist to see the same model watch around my wrist, except in gold. My eyes grow wide with realization.

I knew this man. I don't know how, but I know this man.

"What's wrong, Eric?" Alan asks me, showing a face of concern.

"Alan, may I see your left wrist?" I ask.

"Uh...sure," he says offering me his left wrist. I grab it lightly as I put my left wrist next to his. Inside the watch itself was written, "Eric" and mine had "Alan" written. I look up to see Alan's face covered in realization.

"Where did you get that watch?" I ask.

"A friend gave it to me," he says, "It was a gift of our two years of friendship. We were partners. I was a-"

"New employee and William gave you to me to teach you the ropes and-"

"We became the best of friends."

"And I made a promise to you."

"The promise that we would be friends, through thick and thin."

"Till the bitter end, as I always said."

His eyes fill with tears and so does mine. His body starts to shudder as he bow his head. I lightly lift his head up to my level and wipe his tears.

"OH ERIC!" he says jumping into my arms, nearly falling out of the hospital bed, "I missed you so much! I always said I would find you! I ask Elanora everyday if you stopped by, but you never did! I started to give up, grow depressed, didn't see a point in living. But now, I found you. Please, Eric. Never leave my side.

"Of course," I say, "Now that I found you, I never plan on leaving you."

Just then the door opens to reveal Elanora, but I refused to let go of Alan.

"I think you found your friend, Alan." she says.  
~~~~~  
Alright! Another chapter. I really got nothing to say. Except, chapter 4 is already finished. And, no spoilers, but...it's about to go down. So get ready for it and as always:

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	4. Chapter 4: The Reunion

(A/N: Activate the OST from up top now for an added effect on the chapter! If you can't see the video, here's the link!

https://youtu.be/hKfmYWp1GPk

Enjoy!)

{Alan Pov}

"Well, that's all of them," I say carefully giving Eric's phone back to him with shaking arms, "I hope you learned a little bit more about me."

"Same here," he says, "But there's one question you didn't answer."

"Which one?" I ask nervously.

Please don't make it be the one...

"The last dream you had," he says.

"Oh...right..." I say.

Well, shit!

"It wasn't really a dream...It was more of a flashback."

"Explain," he says.

"Well," I start, "I came into work and said hello to William. He told me I had two autopsy reports to do and I was dumbfounded. I asked him to confirm that I only have the two reports. And he confirmed that I only had two reports. So I went to my desk to start right away...and Grell came over and greeted me. He complimented me on how handsome I was and started to kinda annoying me. So I told him to stop. But then, my chest started to hurt. I guess I was starting to get stress by him constantly annoying me. I clenched it as Grell was asking me if I was okay. But then, my vision became blurry and I fell off my chair and hit my head off the floor. I blacked out, but..."

"But what?" he asks.

"Someone," I say "Someone that looks just like you. That...was the last person I saw before I blacked out."

He looks at me in disbelief. I know I've seen this man before. I wonder if he's thinking the same thing. I notice him looking down at his left wrist. I see a glint of gold under his sweatshirt, but I get a better view of it once he rolled up his sleeve. I look down at my left wrist to see the same exact watch, but in silver.

I knew this man. I don't know how, but I know this man.

"What's wrong, Eric?" I ask, showing a face of geniune concern.

"Alan, may I see your left wrist?" he asks me with a sense of urgency.

"Uh...sure," I say offering him my left wrist. He wraps his hand around my wrist gently and puts it next to his left wrist. There was text written inside the watch itself. Mine had "Eric" written in it, while Eric's had "Alan" written in it. My face is hit with realization.

It's him. It really is him.

"Where did you get that watch?" he asks.

"A friend gave it to me," I reply, "It was a gift of our two years of friendship. We were partners. I was a-"

"New employee and William gave you to him to teach you the ropes and-"

"We became the best of friends."

"And I made a promise to you."

"The promise that we would be friends, through thick and thin."

"Till the bitter end, as I always said."

My eyes fill quickly with tears. my body starts to shudder and shake as I bow my head. He lightly grabs my chin and lifts my head up to his eye level and wipes away my tears.

"OH ERIC!" I yell, jumping into his arms, nearly falling out of my bed. I can feel my IV come out when I wrap my arms around his neck. "I missed you so much! I always said I would find you! I ask Elanora everyday if you stopped by, but you never did! I started to give up, grow depressed, didn't see a point in living. But now, I found you. Please, Eric. Never leave my side."

"Of course," he says, "Now that I found you, I never plan on leaving you."

Just then the door opens to reveal Elanora, but I refused to let go of Eric. He also doesn't want to let me go.

"I think you found your friend, Alan." she says.

(A/N: You can turn off the OST now. Or not. I'm not a cop.)

I release my grip off Eric as he helps me back onto my bed in a safe manner.

"W-what are you doing here?" I ask wiping the dried tears quickly off my cheeks.

"I came to replace your IV bag, but I've seem to have barged in on a moment you two were having," she says, "Should I leave and come back a little later."

"Nah," Eric says, "It's cool."

"Yeah," I say, "It's fine. You do what you got to do."

"Okay then," she says, "May I squeeze through to Alan to replace his IV, Eric?"

"Oh yeah," he says getting up, "Sure." 

He walks out of the corner and instead sit on the right side of my bed. She takes hold of my arm and gently inserts the fallen needle into my arm. Must have came out when I was hugging Eric. She takes out the tube from the IV drip and inserts it into the new fluid bag. She hangs it onto the pole and throws out the empty bag.

"What's the IV for?" Eric asks me.

"It's just in case I don't eat for a long period of time," I say, "Prevents me from getting dehydrated."

"Oh," he says, "Okay."

"Anyways," Elanora says, "It seems like I've interrupted a moment between you two. Would you like me to leave?"

"Umm..." he says.

"I mean, it would be nice," I say, "Nothing against you."

"Of course," she says bowing, "I shall take my leave." And with that, she exits the room.

I continue to stare at the door until I feel Eric begin to hold my left hand. I look at him to see a smile across his face.

"Oh Alan," he says, "How I missed you so much!" He stands up and hugs me again. The smell of cologne fills my nose. It's kinda nostalgic, to be honest. I wrap my arms around him tightly as I begin to cry again.

"Oh, don't cry," he says releasing the hug and wiping away my tears with his thumb, "You're gonna make me cry."

"Sorry," I say, "It's just...I've missed you so much. I thought you really forgot about me. The watch contained the last bit of hope that I had left. And now that you're here, I never want you to leave my side."

"I won't," he says, "Never again. I will never forget you."

What is this emotion I'm feeling? This...warm, fuzzy feeling...That's infesting my chest...my heart is beating fast, but not in pain...In fact, it feels like my heart is fluttering. My stomach filled with butterflies. He's so charming, caring, affectionate, and loving...No...I can't be...He's my best friend...

I can't be falling in love with Eric.

"You okay, Alan" he asks me.

"Uh, yeah," I say, "Just thinking."

"About?" he asks.

"Something," I say.

"Please, Alan" he insists, "Don't hide stuff from me. Sometimes, it's better to let stuff off your chest. That way you don't carry all that stress and have an attack."

"Well," I say a little hesitant, "I feel....different. Like...I feel warm and fuzzy on the inside."

We both hear my heart monitor begin to pick up as I continue to tell Eric how I'm feeling.

"My heart is racing," I say, "I feel queasy. And-"

"Alan," he says, "Are you falling in love with me?" I blush instantly.

"N-n-n-no," I say majorly blushing, "Of course not! Why would I be falling in love with my best friend? Besides I'm not even-"

All of a sudden, Eric grabs my shoulders gently and pulls me closer to him. He then does what I thought he would never do in my entire life.

He kisses me on the lips. 

At first, I don't know what to think. But then, I close my eyes and enjoy the moment. I wrap my arms around his neck and he wraps his arms around my lower back. I start gasping the air, signaling that this kiss has been going on a little too long for my liking. We release our kiss as our foreheads touch and Eric's right hand cups my left cheek. A grin appears on my face as we make eye contact.

"Alan," he says, "I think I'm gay now."

"You and me both," I say.

"Alan," he says, "I promise you. One day, I will get you out of here. I will get you back up and running. I will get you back to work. And most importantly:"

"I will keep you alive."

All of a sudden, there's a knock at the door. We quickly separate and straighten ourselves out like the previous moment never even happened.

"Alan," I hear Elanora say, "You have a visitor."

"Come in," I say. The door opens to reveal Elanora and last person I expected to see today.

William T. Spears.

"William?!" Eric says.

"Mr. Slingby?!" William says.

"Oh-uh...Hi boss," I say waving my hand slightly.

"For that last time, Alan. It's William," he says with a smile.

"Would you like me to stay, Alan?" Elanora asks.

"Nah," I say, "I'll be fine."

"Very well," she says bowing. She opens the door and leaves the room.

"Well, take a seat," I say, "Don't just stand there."

"Very well," William says. He grabs the chair that was next to the table near the window and lifts it. He carries it to the left side of my bed and places it down, and eventually sitting down.

"How are you doing, Mr. Humphries?" William asks.

"Okay, if I can't call you boss, you can't call me Mr. Humphries," I say.

"Okay," he says laughing slightly, "How are you doing, Alan?"

"Fine," I say, "Better than usual today."

"That's good," he says.

Awkward silence...

"So, what are you doing here, Slingby?" William asks.

"I may or may not have slept the night here," Eric says scratching the back of his head, "Elanora couldn't stay with him, so she asked me to do just that."

"Mmm. I see." William says, most likely suspicious, "Well, in other news, I'm sorry I couldn't visit you last night. I was swamped with autopsy reports and I had to do overtime. And the Jack the Ripper case isn't helping us get our work done any faster."

"It's cool," I say looking at Eric, "Besides, I don't really mind a new face around here every once in a while."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't miss me," William says laughing slightly.

"It's not that!" I say, "It's just...I'm glad you at least sent someone to keep me company when you couldn't make it. I respect that."

"Did you sleep the whole night here, Eric?" William asks.

"Yes," he says with a hint of guilt in his voice.

"How was that?" William asks.

"Not as bad as I thought, however, I woke up with major back pain," he says, "Must've slept with bad posture or something."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask, "I could've gotten Elanora to give you pain killers or something."

"Don't need them," Eric replies, "I learned to tolerate the pain."

"Oh, okay," I reply.

"Oh, and Slingby?" William says, "You have a few autopsy reports when you go in tomorrow."

"How many is a 'few'?" he asks.

"Like...six..." he says.

"SIX?!?!?!" he screams, startling me a little, "Sorry, Alan."

"It's fine," I say, "Just...don't give me a heart attack, okay?"

"Gotcha," he says winking at me. I blush slightly.

"Am I missing something?" William asks. My blush now becomes more visable.

"Nononononononononono" I say putting my hand over my face.

"Definitely NOT!" Eric says in defense.

"Alrighty then," William says, "Anyways, Slingby, I can expect you at seven like usual, correct?"

"Yep...unfortunately..." Eric mutters under his breath.

"What was that?" William asks.

"Nothing!" Eric says quickly, almost to quick for me to register what he said.

"That's what I thought," William says, "But enough about us. Did you like the presents I bought?"

"Actually," I start, "I may or may not of had an attack last night?"

"Talk. Now," William says, almost demanding.

"Well..." I start, "Eric and I were talking, and out of nowhere, I had an attack. But he helped me through it and took care of me until the nurse came for me. He was a big help as I calmed down in under a minute and a half."

"Really?" William says, showing genuine interest.

"Yeah," I say, "He stayed with me all night, helped me with my breakfast, and we just finished doing a get to know you challenge."

"Well, isn't that nice?" he says, "You've seemed to have made a new friend, Slingby."

"Actually," Eric begins, "We've know each other for two years."

"I figured you would find out eventually..." William says with a small smile.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE WOULD FIND OUT EVENTUALLY?!" Eric and I scream. All of a sudden, my chest starts to hurt.

Oh no. Not again. Not now.

I clench my chest as the pain erupts faster than any attack I've had before. My heart starts racing and my breathing levels become abnormal. I can feel myself losing oxygen as I try to breathe, but failing miserably. Eric is quick to notice and rushes to my side. He helps me sit up as I see William stand up, but not getting closer to me. He must think that Eric has it covered.

He, once again, places his right hand on my chest and his left on m back. However, this time, he's rubbing circles on my back, further soothing my stress levels.

"William, go get the washrag for the bathroom and wet it with cold water!" he shouts at him as I start sweating profoundly. All William does is nod as he rushes to the bathroom.

"Alright," Eric says, "Just like last time. In..........and out..........In..........and out..........In..........and out.......... You're doing great."

I listen to Eric's instructions and continue to breathe deeply. William comes back with the washcloth as Eric gets me to lay down in my bed. I can see William hand it to Eric as he lifts up my bangs and places the it on my forehead. Eric takes hold of my right hand and sandwhiches in between both of his. The coldness from his hands radiate off him and onto my hand. The coolness rushes down my arm and into the rest of my body. I can feel my body temperature lower and become normal temperature. However, my eyes start to flutter closed due to the lack of energy flowing through my system.

"No no no no no," Eric says, shaking me slightly, "Please don't fall asleep! Not now! Fight through it!"

"I'm...trying..." I say, trying to open my eyes.

"William, can you leave for a minute and get the nurse?" Eric asks.

"Sure," William says leaving the room.

"I'm sorry for this," Eric says. Just then, he smashes his lips against mine, waking me up instantly due to shock. The energy of the kiss send surges of it through my entire body. Almost like health replenishing in a video game. That quick. He quickly pulls back and sighs with relief.

"Well, that worked," he says, "Good to know that love prevails."

"Like in the fairy tales?" I ask.

"Yep," he says. Just then, William comes back with Elanora.

"Alan!" she says rushing to my side, pushing Eric out of the way, and grabbing my clipboard out of the basket, violently writing down the current vitals. 

She literally throws the clipboard into the basket and is frantic, trying to fix whatever is needed. She turns the knob on my IV drip, sending more fluids into my body, eventually settling me down and bringing my vitals back up to their normal state.

"Good thing you got me, Mr. Spears," she says, "He was just about to pass out due to the lack of fluids. I must've did something wrong when I was replacing you IV bag, Alan. A thousand apologies."

"You're fine," I say, "It was an accident. Accidents happen. The worst that could've happened is that I would've passed out for a few hours."

"But-" she begins.

"No buts," I say cutting her off, "It was an accident."

"Right," she says still uneasy, "Accident. You're still living. Everything is fine."

"Correct," I say, "I'm still breathing, according to my oxygen levels. My heart monitor is perfectly fine. And now, I'm getting the proper amount of fluids in my system. I. Am. Fine."

"Okay," she says, "Thanks for the reassurance. Anyways, it's time for lunch. Today's lunch is-"

Suddenly, I hear a beeping noise. I look over at William to see him get up.

"I apologize, Alan," he says, "I'm past my lunch break and I have to go back to work."

"Nah, it's cool," I say, "I'll see you in the future."

"Slingby," William says turning to Eric, "May I talk to you outside?"

"Uh...sure," he says, "I'll be back, Alan."

"Take your time," I say, "I'm not going anywhere." And with that, he leaves the room.

"Anyways," Elanora says, "I'm taking you want soup like usual."

"Chicken pot pie soup?" I ask.

"You got it!" she says rushing out of the room. And just as she leaves, Eric comes back. He sits on the right side of me and clasps his hands together.

"Alan," he says,

"I think William is a Homophobe."  
~~~~~  
Dun, dun DUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN! Stuff is about to go down. What exactly did William say to Eric? Well, I guess you'll have to find out in the next chapter. And as always.

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	5. Chapter 5: Vacation Filing and Surgery Expenses

{Eric Pov}

"Alan," I ask, "Are you falling in love with me?" He blushes.

"N-n-n-no," he says, "Of course not! Why would I be falling in love in love with my best friend? Besides I'm not even-"

Dammit. I'm just gonna do it!

I grab Alan's shoulders gently and pull him closer to me. I then do what I thought I would never do in my entire life.

I kiss Alan directly on the lips. 

At first, Alan's eyes grow wide. But then, he closes his eyes and enjoys the moment. He wraps his arms around my neck and I wrap my arms gently around his lower back. I can hear him start gasping the air, signaling me that the kiss is going on a little too long for his liking. We release our kiss as our foreheads touch and my right hand cups his left cheek. A grin appears on his face as we make eye contact.

"Alan," I say, "I think I'm gay now."

"You and me both," he says.

"Alan," I say, "I promise you. One day, I will get you out of here. I will get you back up and running. I will get you back to work. And most importantly:"

"I will keep you alive."

All of a sudden, there's a knock at the door. We quickly separate and straighten ourselves out like the previous moment never even happened. In fact, my face goes pink a little.

"Alan," I hear Elanora say, "You have a visitor."

"Come in," he says. The door opens to reveal Elanora and last person I wanted to see today and now.

William T. Spears.

"William?!" I screech.

"Mr. Slingby?!" he says.

"Oh-uh...Hi boss," he says waving his hand slightly.

"For that last time, Alan. It's William," he says with a smile.

"Would you like me to stay, Alan?" Elanora asks.

"Nah," Alan replies, "I'll be fine."

"Very well," she says bowing. She opens the door and leaves the room. Leaving the three of us in the room, awkwardly looking at each other.

"Well, take a seat," Alan says, motioning William to a chair across the room, "Don't just stand there."

"Very well," William says. He grabs the chair that was next to the table near the window and lifts it. He carries it to the left side of Alan's bed and places it down, and eventually sitting down.

"How are you doing, Mr. Humphries?" William asks.

"Okay, if I can't call you boss, you can't call me Mr. Humphries," Alan replies.

"Okay," William says laughing slightly, "How are you doing, Alan?"

"Fine," Alan replies, "Better than usual today."

"That's good," William says.

Awkward silence...

"So, what are you doing here, Slingby?" William asks me.

"I may or may not have slept the night here," I say scratching the back of my head, "Elanora couldn't stay with him, so she asked me to do just that."

"Mmm. I see." William says, most likely suspicious of both me and Alan sleeping in the same room, "Well, in other news, I'm sorry I couldn't visit you last night. I was swamped with autopsy reports and I had to do overtime. And the Jack the Ripper case isn't helping us get our work done any faster."

"It's cool," he says looking at me with a smile, "Besides, I don't really mind a new face around here every once in a while."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't miss me," William says laughing slightly.

"It's not that!" he says, "It's just...I'm glad you at least sent someone to keep me company when you couldn't make it. I respect that."

"Did you sleep the whole night here, Eric?" William asks me.

"Yes," I say with a hint of embarrassment in my voice.

"How was that?" William asks.

"Not as bad as I thought, however, I woke up with major back pain," I say, "Must've slept with bad posture or something."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Alan asks me disappointed, "I could've gotten Elanora to give you pain killers or something."

"Don't need them," I say, "I learned to tolerate the pain."

"Oh, okay," he says.

"Oh, and Slingby?" William says, "You have a few autopsy reports when you go in tomorrow."

"How many is a 'few'?" I ask.

"Like...six..." he says.

You gotta be kidding me!

"SIX?!?!?!" I scream, startling Alan a little as I seem him jump slightly, "Sorry, Alan."

"It's fine," he says, "Just...don't give me a heart attack, okay?"

"Gotcha," I say winking at him. He blushes slightly as we stare at each other for a bit.

"Am I missing something?" William asks. His blush now becomes more visable and red.

"Nononononononononono" he says putting his hand over his face, trying to hide the blush.

"Definitely NOT!" I say in defense, trying to hide the kiss from William.

"Alrighty then," William says, "Anyways, Slingby, I can expect you at seven like usual, correct?"

"Yep...unfortunately..." I mutter under my breath.

"What was that?" William asks.

"Nothing!" I say quickly, almost too quickly.

"That's what I thought," William says, "But enough about us. Did you like the presents I bought?"

"Actually," he starts.

Oh no. Here we go.

"I may or may not of had an attack last night?" he says

"Talk. Now," William says, almost demanding.

"Well..." he begins, "Eric and I were talking, and out of nowhere, I had an attack. But he helped me through it and took care of me until the nurse came for me. He was a big help as I calmed down in under a minute and a half."

"Really?" William says, showing genuine interest.

"Yeah," Alan says, "He stayed with me all night, helped me with my breakfast, and we just finished doing a get to know you challenge."

"Well, isn't that nice?" William says, "You've seemed to have made a new friend, Slingby."

"Actually," I say barging into the conversation, "We've know each other for two years."

"I figured you would find out eventually..." William says with a small smile.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE WOULD FIND OUT EVENTUALLY?!" Alan and I scream. All of a sudden, I here panting coming from my left.

Alan clenches his chest hard. His heart starts racing, according to the heart monitor. I look at his oxygen levels to see them going into the danger territory. I'm quick to notice and rush to his side. I help him sit up as I see William stand up, but not getting closer to me or Alan. He must think that I have it covered. Thanks for the help, William.

I place my right hand on his chest and my left on his back. However, this time, I rub his back in circles, attempting to sooth his stress levels.

"William, go get the washrag for the bathroom and wet it with cold water!" I shout at William. All he goes is nod as he rushes to the bathroom.

"Alright," I say looking at his sweat covered face, "Just like last time. In..........and out..........In..........and out..........In..........and out.......... You're doing great."

His listen to me as I hear his heart monitor begin to slow down. William comes back with the washcloth as I get him to lay down in his bed. William hands it to to me as I lift up his bangs and place it on his forehead. I then take hold of his right hand and sandwhich it in between both of my cold hands. The coldness from my hands begins to radiate off of me and onto his, hopefully cooling him down. And it actually starts to work. I see him shiver a bit as the coldness runs throughout his body. However, I see his eyes start to flutter closed due to the lack of energy flowing through through his system.

"No no no no no," I say, starting to shake him, "Please don't fall asleep! Not now! Fight through it!"

"I'm...trying..." he says, trying to open his eyes, but failing miserably. Suddenly, an idea pops into my head. But I need William out of the room.

"William, can you leave for a minute and get the nurse?" I say.

"Sure," William says leaving the room.

"I'm sorry for this," I say. I smash my lips against his. His eyes grow wide as I feel the energy surge in our kiss. I quickly pull back and sigh with relief.

"Well, that worked," I say, "Good to know that love prevails."

"Like in the fairy tales?" he asks me.

"Yep," I reply. Just then, William comes back with Elanora.

"Alan!" she says rushing to his side, pushing me out of the way, and grabbing his clipboard out of the basket, violently writing down his current vitals. 

She literally throws the clipboard into the basket and is frantic, trying to fix whatever is needed. She turns the knob on his IV drip, sending more fluids into his body, eventually settling him down and bringing his vitals back up to their normal state.

"Good thing you got me, Mr. Spears," she says, "He was just about to pass out due to the lack of fluids. I must've did something wrong when I was replacing you IV bag, Alan. A thousand apologies."

"You're fine," he says, "It was an accident. Accidents happen. The worst that could've happened is that I would've passed out for a few hours."

"But-" she begins.

"No buts," he says cutting her off, "It was an accident."

"Right," she says still uneasy, "Accident. You're still living. Everything is fine."

"Correct," he says, "I'm still breathing, according to my oxygen levels. My heart monitor is perfectly fine. And now, I'm getting the proper amount of fluids in my system. I. Am. Fine."

"Okay," she says, "Thanks for the reassurance. Anyways, it's time for lunch. Today's lunch is-"

Suddenly, I hear a beeping noise. I look over at William to see him get up.

"I apologize, Alan," he says, "I'm past my lunch break and I have to go back to work."

"Nah, it's cool," I say, "I'll see you in the future."

"Slingby," William says turning to me, "May I talk to you outside?"

"Uh...sure," I say, "I'll be back, Alan."

"Take your time," he says, "I'm not going anywhere." And with that, I leave the room with William. He closes the door behind him and takes a deep breath.

"Slingby," he starts, "I know something happened between you and Alan last night, and I don't like it."

"Why do you care?!" I ask.

"Because," he says, "I don't appreciate that you're out there, giving yourself to him. I have a feeling he's going to get in the way of your work and you're going to get nothing done."

"So what if he does?" I ask, "It's not YOUR problem if I don't get MY work done."

"Anyways," he continues on, "If you do something that sets him off, I WILL make sure you never see him again."

"Whatever," I say turning to the door, "And William, I will be coming in on Sunday, but not for work."

"You're not-" he says.

"But I am," I say, "I'm filing for my week vacation for the winter."

He takes a deep breath and responds.

"Fine," he says, "Don't bother coming in tomorrow. I will file for your vacation and divide your work to everyone else. But mark my words, I will make your life a living hell if I here that your hurt him. And don't do anything sexual. I hate to see relationships like the one your having, let alone a sexual relationship."

And with that, he walks down the hallway and leaves the hospice care unit. I clench my hand into a fist as I take a deep breath. I turn the doorknob and open the door to see Alan still laying in his bed. I sit down next to him and clench my hands again as I prepare to tell Alan what I learned.

"Alan," I say,

"I think William is a homophobe."

"How can you tell?" he asks.

"He said he didn't really the way our relationship is running," I respond.

"But that could mean anything," he says, "Did he say anything else?"

"Yeah, he expected me to come in to work," I say, "But..."

"But what?" Alan says.

"I filed for my seven day winter vacation," I say, "To spend more time with you."

Alan's eyes fill with tears as he smiles.

"Why?" he says, "I'm not worth it. You're not going to get paid, and William is going to kill you! He already expressed his minor hatred of you to me. Why make that worse than it already-"

"Because," I say, "I want to make up for lost time with you. You said it yourself that you thought I would never remember you. And now I do. I will spend everyday of my vacation, whether you like it or not."

Alan leans in closer to me and kisses me on the cheek.

"Thank you," he says.

"You're welcome," I say kissing him back.

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. It's Elanora.

"Alan, may I come in?" she asks through the door.

"Yes you can," he says. The door open to reveal Elanora with two bowls of soup, one for Alan and one for me. Elanora hands me one bowl and place the other on Alan's table. 

As Elanora begins to have a conversation with him, I take out my phone and google, "How much is it for a Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting?" The results pop up to reveal it costing an average of twenty two thousand three hundred and twenty nine dollars. I then go to my online bank account and open up a new savings account. I title it, "Alan's Surgery Expenses." I plan on using every penny I receive at work to pay off his surgery bills. With my salary being ninety one thousand three hundred and twenty four dollars, and my hourly pay comes out to twenty two dollars and a penny (three hundred and thirty dollars and fifteen cents daily.) I should be able to pay his medical expenses within sixty seven work days. The requirement of Dr. Nikishiko's surgeries is to pay a fourth of the total cost of the surgery up front, which is a total of eighty nine thousand and three hundred and sixteen dollars.

I go back to my online bank and look at the paychecks I've received over the past six months. Unfortunately, I only have forty four thousand six hundred and fifty eight dollars in my account. But all of a sudden, I remember something. I have overtime hours that I get paid for. I open up that account to see that I have fifty nine thousand dollars in overtime over the past four years I've been working for William. My eyes grow big as I realize something. 

I can give Alan the help he needs to get him out of hospice care.

I turn to Alan to see that he's emersed in the conversation at hand. I need to call Dr. Nikishiko urgently.

"Excuse me, Alan," I say, "I have to make a phone call."

"Alright," he says with a smile, "I'll be here."

I leave the room and walk outside and to my car. I quickly make a transaction outside of my car and bring the correct amount of money over to the new file. I get inside and dial the hospital with shaking hands. I eventually dial the right numbers and bring the phone up to my ears. Ringing pierces my ears, but stops at the third ring."

"This is the Nikishiko Memorial Hospital, how may I help you?" a women's voice says.

"Yes, I would like to talk to Dr. Nikishiko," I say.

"Oh yes, I will get her," she says, "Please wait a moment."

"Sure," I say. My whole body shakes as I wait anxiously for the doctor to get on the line.

"This is Dr. Nikishiko, how may I help you?" a kind woman says on the other line.

"Uh, yes. My name is Eric Slingby. I'm a friend of your former patient, Alan Humphries," I say, "I would just like to know if he is elgible for a Coronary Aretry Bypass Grafting."

"Why, yes he's elgible for the surgery," she says, "He's always have been. However, his insurance has refused to pay for it as he can't pay for his previous medical expenses."

Deep breath...

"I'm willing to pay for the surgery," I say. 

"Sorry?" she asks.

"I am willing to pay for the surgery," I say a little louder, "What day would you like to take him in?"

"I'm sorry, sir," she says, "But in order for me to do that, you have to pay a fourth of the entire medical bill up front."

"I have the correct amount of money on my account," I say, "I just looked."

"What bank are you with?" she asks. I give her my bank account and tell her to check the new file I just added.

"Oh!" she says, "It seems you've gathered up the twenty five percent already."

"Yes ma'am," I say.

"Well, I am willing to take him in for the surgery in a week. How about, not this Monday, but next Monday?" she says.

"That's fine." I say, "Should I tell hospice care to transport him to the hospital?"

"Not yet," she says, "I will come to get him the Sunday before the surgery."

"Thank you so much," I say, "I will see you then."

"You're welcome," she says, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." I say as I hang up. I slump back into my chair with relief. I'm going to be able to keep my promise.

I'm going to keep Alan alive.  
~~~~~  
Hey guys! Now that Eric took off work and is in the process of getting his happily ever after, what will he do with Alan for an entire week? Who knows? Just so you guys know, I will be updating chapters EVERY Saturday. So look forward every Saturday for a new chapter. I hope you guys liked this chapter. And as always,

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	6. Chapter 6: I Will Live to See Another Day

(A/N: The music up above or down below can be played at a certain point in the story. I will let you know when it fits in the story. Here's the link:

https://youtu.be/OKwhZIN2BOc

Enjoy the chapter!)

{Alan Pov}

"I think William is a homophobe," Eric tells me.

"How can you tell?" I ask.

"He said he didn't really like the way our relationship is running," he replies.

"But that could mean anything," I say trying to reassure his thoughts, "Did he say anything else?"

"Yeah, he expected me to come in to work," he tells me, "But..."

"But what?" I ask.

"I filed for my seven day winter vacation," he says, "To spend more time with you."

My eyes start to fill with tears. I can't believe he would do that for me. My mouth quivers as I start to feel guilty.

"Why?" I say trying to talk normally, "I'm not worth it. You're not going to get paid, and William is going to kill you! He already expressed his minor hatred of you to me. Why make that worse than it already-"

"Because," he says, cutting me off, "I want to make up for lost time with you. You said it yourself that you thought I would never remember you. And now I do. I will spend everyday of my vacation, whether you like it or not."

I start to lean in closer as I close my eyes. I kiss him on the cheek and pull back.

"Thank you," I say.

"You're welcome," he says kissing me back on my cheek.

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. It's Elanora.

"Alan, may I come in?" she asks through the door.

"Yes you can," I say. The door open to reveal Elanora with two bowls of soup, one for me, and one for Eric. She then walks over to my left side and starts a conversation with me.

"So, how was Mr. Spears?" she asks me.

"He was good," I say, "Curious about my condition as always."

"He's just looking out fo ya!" she says with a smile, "I mean, he is your friend. And that's what friends do."

"You're right," I say.

"So...what was William's gift?" she asks me, "Did he tell you?"

"Umm," I say grabbing the bag and placing it on my table. I open it up to find a batch of Ericas and a small box of chocolates. I smile at the fact that William knows I like Ericas and chocolate. However, I usually eat chocolates only on occasions. But it's nice to treat yourself every once in a while.

"Well?" she asks.

"Ericas and chocolates," I say with a smile.

"Aww!" she says, "That's so sweet! Literally!"

"Yeah," I say. Suddenly I see Eric get up and walk over to the door.

"Excuse me, Alan," he says, "I need to make a phone call."

"Alright," I say, "I'm not going anywhere." And with that, he leaves the room.

"So..." she says, "Wanna start eating?"

"Umm," I say, "Is it okay if I wait for Eric to come back?"

"Absolutely!" she says, "Just don't let it get cold."

"I'll try my best," I say.

Silence...

"I wonder where Eric went," I say, "I don't here him outside in the room."

"Maybe he wanted to keep the call private," she says

"Yeah...I guess you're right," I say.

"Hey, uh Alan?" she says.

"Yeah, Elanora?" I ask.

"Is there something I'm missing?" she asks, "Between you and Eric?"

CRAP! SHE'S ON TO ME! I mean, I think I can trust her...right?...

"Yes," I admit, "Me and Eric are kinda...in a relationship..."

"Really?" she says, "I didn't know. I would've paid more attention in trying to find him. How long was this relationship?"

"Well...like two years," I say, "We were separated five months ago when I was first checked into the hospital. Eric never visited for the longest time. And I never understood why. So that's why I started growing depressed. I thought he forgot about me, or thought I died, or even worse, hated me. Until this morning. The watches that bonded our friendship were still on each others wrists and I knew it was him. And...we may or may not has kissed. I guess he missed me that much that he kissed me. And...I actually liked it. I liked being in his loving arms. I couldn't ask for a better reunion."

"I didn't know any of this," Elanora says, "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because I thought you would be disgusted with me," I say to her admittingly, "I thought you would never want to be my nurse ever again."

"Alan," she says, "As a nurse, I tend to any patient. It doesn't matter of gender, sexuality, color, or anything like that. I will still treat you like I've done in the past. Always and forever."

"Thanks, Elanora," I say, "For always being there."

"You're welcome." she says. Just then, Eric comes back and sits back down. I turn to him and as:

"How was your phone call?"

"Good," he responds, "I just had to get things settled with work. You know how it is."

"Don't I ever," I say, "Um...Eric...do you think...you could....uh..."

"Help you eat again?" he finishes. My face turns red instantly as I bury my head in my hands.

"Yes," I admit. 

He scootches over to me and helps me eat for about six minutes until I tell him I'm full. Then, Elanora adjusts the IV drip accordingly. 

"I lowered you amount of fluids again," she says, "Should last you till dinner."

"Thank you," I say.

"Now, I have other patients to tend to," she says standing up, "Think you'll be able to live without me till dinner?"

"I hope so," I reply.

"Excellent," she says walking to the door, "Bye Alan. Bye Eric."

"Bye!" Eric and I say at the same time. 

We turn to each other once she leaves and laugh at our synchronization. Suddenly, Eric reaches over to me and holds my right hand. And for once, his hands were warm when they are intertwined with mine. However, my hand starts to shake, mainly because of my weak, cold, anxious body.

"You okay, Alan?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say, "I'm kinda cold and anxious, but I'll be fine."

"Is it because of the washcloth?" he says removing the washcloth from my forehead.

"I don't know," I say shivering slightly, "Maybe because of the attack. My body temperature seems to vary after an attack."

"Would you like a blanket?" he asks.

"If you wouldn't mind," I say.

He walks over to his cot and gathers the blanket. He wraps it around my shoulders and kisses me on the head.

"Are you going to kiss me everytime you do something for me?" I ask.

"You don't like it?" he asks.

"I do," I say, "It's just...you do it after everything you do for me."

"That's because I care and..." he drifts off.

"And what?" I ask.

"I love you," he says. I blush, but quickly stop and take a deep breath.

"I love you too," I say.

There's a moment of silence, but then, Eric breaks it.

"So," he says, "You said you sing a bit?"

"Yeah," I say, "I did chorus in high school. But then I stopped."

"Why?" he asks.

"I got bullied for it," I say, "I was called every name under the sun that meant gay or a girl."

"Really?" he says in disbelief.

"Yeah," I say with guilt, "But I always ignored it. Even though I would be physically bullied, I still kept singing."

"Do you have any songs you would like to show me?" he asks.

"Sure," I say, "My lyric book is in the drawer right next to you." He opens up my drawer to find numerous pieces of paper, folders, and pencils.

"Man! You sure have a lot!" he says shocked.

"Well, when you have really nothing to and you're in bed all day, you kinda get bored after a while," I say.

"Is all of these lyrics yours?" he asks.

"No?" I say laughing, "Of course not." He picks a book out at random and hands it to me. I realize that he handed me my show tunes book.

"Oh!" I say, "Do you listen to like broadway and stuff like that?"

"Not really," he replies.

"Oh," I say, "Well, this is my show tune book. I write anything from broadway to underground shows. Like, off broadway shows."

"Cool," he says, "Well, again, I'm not the best singer in the world, but I think, on a scale of one to ten, I'm like a six and three fourths."

"Not bad," I say, "Well, let me look through this and pick out something."

"Alright," he says.

I open up the book and start flipping around to find a good duet. None of them really seemed to catch my eye...all except one.

A Thousand and One Nights.

Now, you may be asking, "Where did this song come from?" Well, I'm glad you asked. It came from a musical titled, "Twisted: The Tale of a Royal Vizier" by Starkid. I found it on Youtube one day and watched it in its entirety. And it was really good. It was a parody of the Disney movie, Aladdin. But instead of putting in Aladdin's perspective, it's instead in Jafar's perspective. And the story makes Aladdin the villian and Jafar the hero. It was a great musical and I think you should check it out.

(A/N: Not sponsored by the way. Just a good musical that I think you should check out!)

I also see if I made two copies of the lyrics. And lucky me, I did make two copies. I take them out of the book and hand one copy to Eric.

"You watched Twisted?!" he says.

"Yeah," I say, "Elanora recommended it to me one day. And I watched it all in one sitting.

"Ha! Small world, I guess," he says, "And you picked the best song in it!"

"I did?" I ask, "I didn't know you liked romance songs."

"Well, I kinda keep that to myself," he says. I laugh a little inside.

"Well, should we start?" I ask.

"You play Sherrezade?" he asks.

"I was an alto in chours, so I think I'll be able to hit the high notes," I say.

"And I'll take Jafar?" he asks.

"Sure," I say.

(A/N: You could activate the song above and follow along with the lyrics down below if you wish. Alan's singing is down an octive, so it will be more realistic sing for a man.)

Alan:  
I know a thousand tales to fill a thousand nights  
But now another story comes to mind  
A noble, young vizier ascends to wondrous heights  
He's brilliant as he's handsome, and handsome as he's kind

He is at once familiar and unknowable  
To the frightened girl he meets along the way  
And to the girl's surprise, something in his eyes  
Beckons her to know him and inspires her to say

I want to know your story  
I want to know your past  
So tell me slowly from the start  
Leave out no detail  
Savour every part

I want to know your story  
So make the story last  
I want to know each twist and turn  
Tell me all I've missed  
I've so much to learn

For when it comes to stories  
I thought I knew them all  
Now I'm face to face with one  
I can't seem to recall

Eric:  
The young vizier had come to help inspire change  
But fate had planned an unexpected twist  
Within the palace walls he discovered something strange  
And found the missing part of him he didn't know he missed

She is at once a comfort and a mystery  
To the callow man she meets that fateful day  
She's beautiful and wise, and something in her eyes  
Beckons him to know her and inspires him to say

I want to know your story  
I want to know your past  
I want to know your future too  
Fill my days and nights  
With the tale of you

Eric and Alan ()  
I want to know your story  
(I want to know your story)  
So make the story last  
(So make the story...)   
And...

Both:  
...linger on for every part  
Tell it till I know  
Every bit by heart

Eric:  
I never cared for stories  
Until you entered mine

Both:  
And now my only wish is that  
Our plots may intertwine

Eric:  
But I forget what happens next

Alan:  
I'm not sure I understand

Eric:  
Remind me how she answers  
When he asks her for her hand?

Alan:  
(Spoken) Took you long enough  
(Spoken) Yes, she says yes!

Both:  
A thousand and one nights with you is not enough to spend  
So let's make ours a story with no end

So let's make ours a story with no end...

(FINISHED)

"That was amazing!" I say, "I didn't know you can sing like that!"

"Hey," he says scratching the back of his head, "It's really not THAT good."

"But it is," I say, "It's absolutely perfect. Why didn't you join chorus?"

"Because," he says, "In high school, I wasn't your straight "A" student. I was kinda known as the cool kid know never really got his work done and passed his classes by a hair. I'm surprised I was able to get the job that I wanted just by doing well in college."

"You got lucky," I say. Suddenly, there's a knock at the door.

"Alan!" I hear Elanora say, "Y-you have a visitor."

"Send them in," I say handing my lyrics to put back in my drawer. The door opens to reveal a person I never thought I would see again.

Dr. Nikishiko.

My eyes grow wide at the sight of her. 

Why was she here? I thought she gave up on me... 

"Alan," Elanora says, "This is Dr. Nikishiko. She came to talk to you about something rather great. And Eric. She would like to keep this to just her and Alan.

"I get it," he says, "I'll wait outside."

He gets up and walks out with Elanora, leaving me and Dr. Nikishiko. Alone.

"So...uh...what brings you here?" I ask.

"Well," she says sitting down in the chair on the right side of my bed, "I'm here to talk to you about the proto call of the surgery for next Monday."

"What surgery?" I ask shaking a little.

"Your Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting," she says, "Didn't your friend tell you?"

"I know nothing," I say as my heart rate picks up.

"Well," she says, "You friend has seemed to have been able to pay for your procedure. I've just come here to let you know of the proto call for the days before your surgery."

My eyes grow wide. I can't believe this is actually happening.

"O-o-okay" I say stuttering.

"So, I'm going to have to preform tests, such as blood tests, a chest x-ray, and Cardiac catheterization," she tells me, "The day before the surgery, I'm going to be prescribing you some disinfection solution to clean your chest off to minimize the risk of infection near your chest incision. We will transport you out of hospice and into the hospital either on the Saturday or Sunday before the surgery. The day OF the surgery, more tests will be preformed before the surgery. Then we will do the procedure. I will not go into detail about how the surgery is going to work until you are completely ready for the surgery. Any questions?"

"Is there any possibility that Eric can stay with me throughout the recovery stage?" I ask.

"What's your relationship with him?" she asks.

"He's my boyfriend," I say, "I can't live without him."

"Usually, I would say no," she says, "But...I've heard from your nurse that your reunion was today and that you have a lot to catch up on. So I will let him stay with you overnight. If he has work, then we can relieve him out and then bring him back in. Does this work for you?"

"Yes," I say, "That's perfect."

"Alright," she says, "Anything else?"

"Um," I say, "When am I being transported to the hospital?"

"Well..." she says, "I told you and your friend that I would be transporting you in a few days. But...I would like you under the care of the hospital tonight."

"Tonight?!" I say, "What happened to gathering my things?!"

"Peace, Alan," she says, "I will transport you over and have Elanora collect your things and transfer them over. Anything else?"

"On the topic of Elanora," I say, "Can she be transfered to the hospital wing until I get my surgery? She's been with me since the beginning and I want her to stay with me till the end."

"Of course," she says, "I will transfer her out and make sure her other patients will be covered. Is that all?"

"That's it," I say.

"Alright," she says taking my right hand and shaking it, "I will see you in a few days to preform those tests."

She stands up and leaves the room. I can't believe what's going on. I can't believe what's going to happen in the future.

I can't believe I'm actually going to live.  
~~~~~  
Hey guys! So the song up above, again, is from Starkid's musical, Twisted: The Tale of a Royal Vizier. It is a musical on Youtube with really good music and plot and I highly recommend for you to check it out. Again, not sponsored, but I just wanted to put the song into the story because I thought it fit into the story. So, now that Alan knows what Eric did for him, how will he handle these next couple of days? There's only one way to find out. Tune in for the next chapter. And as always:

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	7. Chapter 7: Info and Fears

WARNING! THIS CHAPTER HAS A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFTING, CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION TESTING, AND A BUNCH OF OTHER MEDICAL TALK THAT COULD BE TRIGGERING AND TOO EXTREME FOR SOME READERS TO HANDLE! VIEWER'S DISCRESION IS ADVISED!

{Eric Pov}

I sit in a chair outside of Alan's room, tapping my foot due to the anxiety rushing through my veins. What is Dr. Nikishiko going to tell him? What plans does she have for him? How will Alan react? Will he hate me for doing this without his consent? UGH! WHY DIDN'T I THINK THIS THROUGH?!

Suddenly, a bunch of nurses rush into his room as Dr. Nikishiko comes out. I begin to panic as I stand up quickly and wanting answers.

"Is everything okay?!" I ask with a sense of urgency in my voice.

"Calm down, Mr. Slingby," she say putting her left hand on my right shoulder, "Everything is fine. The nurses are just going in to collect his things."

"What? Why?" I ask.

"I will be taking Alan and moving him to the hospital wing," she says, "I've should have told you on the phone, but I forgot about the numerous amounts of tests I have to preform on him before the surgery."

"Okay," I say with a sigh of relief, "What do you mean by tests?"

"Like, blood work, a chest x-ray, and a Cardiac Catheterization," she says.

"What was that last one?" I ask.

"Why don't we make out way over to the hospital and talk?" she says, "A walk and talk. That way, we can make our way over to where Mr. Humphries will be and you get all the information you need."

"Alright," I say. We start walking down the hallway and out of hospice care as I gather all the information I need.

(A/N: WARNING! I DID AS MUCH RESEARCH ON THE FOLLOWING AS POSSIBLE. IF SOMETHING IS NOT CORRECT, PLEASE DON'T FREAK OUT. IT WILL BE FIXED ACCORDINGLY.)

"Now, I heard you asked with a Cardiac Catheterization," she says, "It's a test to check your heart. Simple as that. The test uses a thin, flexible tube called a catheter that is inserted into the heart through the blood vessels."

"Sounds scary," I say.

"It really isn't," she says, "My whole team has done this test over fifty times. Nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, you will have to wait outside during the procedure. Nothing against you. Just proto call."

"Well, that goes without saying," I say, "What happens after the tests?"

"We then prepare the legistics in preforming the surgery," she says, "Would you like to know some of the procedure?"

"If you wish to tell me," I say walking down the sidewalk to the hospital next to her.

"Okay, here it goes," she says, "I don't wish to scare you. So let me know when my information becomes too much."

"The surgery is going to last three to six hours. Mr. Humphries will be put under general anesthesia for the entire surgery. He won't feel a thing. His heart beat, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and breathing will all be monitored to ensure his safety during the procedure. However, he will not be able to breathe on his own. Therefore, when have to send a breathing tube carefully down his throat to administer oxygen through a ventilator. On top of that, a heart-lung bypass machine will keep oxygen-rich blood moving through his entire body throughout the surgery. Shall I continue?"

"Yes," I say as we enter the hospital.

"We will be heading to my office by the way," she says.

"Whatever works for you," I say. We walk down the hallway as she continues to tell me about the procedure.

"We're going to have to cut open the breastbone in order to get to the heart. After that, he will a medicine that will stop his heart to perform the rest of the procedure efficiently. But not to worry. He will also receive medicines that will protect the heart's functions during the time it's not beating. We will perform the procedure and be prepared to start up his heart. Sometimes, it'll start up on its own. Other times, it will need a mild electric shock to get him back up and running. But again, not to worry. We will let you know at the end if we used shocks to start him back up."

"Once we start up his heart again, he will be disconnected from the hear-lung bypass machine. Then, tubes will be inserted into his chest to clear out any fluids. Then, I will wire his chest bone closed. The wire will stay there for the rest of his life, however. After the rehabilitation stage, his chest will be as strong as it was before the surgery. We'll either staple or stitch his chest closed and remove the breathing tube once he is able to breathe on his own."

"That's it?" I ask.

"Yep" she says. We stop in front of her office. "I hope you feel much safer putting Mr. Humphries through this procedure. This is going to help him in the long run."

"I sure hope so," I say.

"Will you be here throughout the recovery stage?" she asks.

"Yes," I say, "However, I may have to work some days. This surgery is not going to pay itself off."

"Understandable," she says.

"Now, how does the recovery stage work?" I ask.

"He will be put in the ICU," she says, "He will be watched by doctors and nurses twenty four seven. He may not be able to talk at first due to the tube in his throat, but we will remove it a few hours after the surgery once he is able to breathe on his own. He will most likely be kept in there for a week or two, but then he will be able to what he wanted to do for months, have freedom. Any other questions?"

"Nope, that's about it," I say, "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," she says, "And by the way, I may take him earlier than the expected date depending how his tests come out."

"I'll be sure to tell Alan that," I say.

"Thank you," she says, "Now, I have some work I have to take care of. Alan should be in room two sixty two right about now. You go see him and I'll preform the tests on Monday. However, to ensure his safety, I will be preforming the Cardiac catheterization the day AFTER his blood tests and chest x-ray."

"Okay," I say, "Have fun with that work."

"Thank you," she says.

And with that, she goes into her office and closes the door behind her. I sigh with a little bit of relief, knowing that the doctor has done the surgery numerous times before. But, I'm still nervous about Alan. How will he handle the tests before him? What's he going to say to me about paying for the surgery? And most importantly, will he hate me for it? 

I walk down the halls of the hospital to find where Alan is. I go up a floor to the two hundred rooms. I go through two more hallways to get to the fifty and sixty rooms. I find room two sixty two and knock on the door. And what do you know? Alan was already there! I open the door to find Alan asleep. But once I close the door, his eyes flutter open.

"Hey, love," I say walking over to him and kissing him on the head.

"Hey," he says tiredly with a smile.

"How was the transfer?" I ask.

"Fine," he says, "They pretty much took me through the bridge that connects the hospice unit and the hospital, since I can't really walk on my own."

"Have you ever tried since being in the hospital?" I ask sitting down in the chair on his right side of the bed.

"I tried about a month ago with Elanora," he says, "But my legs buckled and I ended up falling, damaging my head a bit. Nothing serious though. Just a headache for a few days."

"And ever since then, you've been nervous to walk," I say.

"Yes," he says, "I'm afraid I'm going to make my body worse and have an attack."

"Hmm...interesting," I say.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks me.

"Well, I want to make the next week the best you ever had in the five months you've been in the hospital and hospice care," I say.

"What are the plans?" he asks.

"Well," I say, "The first day that we'll be able to do things, Wednesday, I wanted to take you out for a visit to the workplace. Now, the second day, I'm going to help you walk."

"W-what about my tests?" he asks.

"Dr. Nikishiko said that she'll preform the blood tests and chest x-ray on Monday and the Cardiac Catheterization on Tuesday," he says.

"Oh...right.....the catheterization," he says fading with his voice.

"Something wrong, Alan?" I ask.

"I never had a Cardiac Catheterization," he tells me, "I heard about the process of the test...and...and...I'm scared, Eric. I'm legitimately scared."

"Oh, Alan," I say standing up and hugging him, "There's nothing to be afraid of. Dr. Nikishiko said she did the test so many times. Nothing to fear. And besides, even though I can't be with you, I will still fight for you. Even on that operating table."

"I wish I had as much confidence as you," he says as we release our hug, seeing Alan's tear covered cheeks, "I wish I wasn't afraid."

"Everyone gets afraid when they don't know how their future is going to turn out," I say wiping away his tears, "It's natural to feel that way. But, like I said, I will protect you. I will fight for you when you can't. I will be brave for you."

"Thank you," he says hugging me again, burying his face into my chest and sobbing uncontrollably.

"You're welcome," I say, "I love you."

"I love you too," he says.

Just then, there's a knock at the door.

"Alan," I hear Elanora say behind the door, "May I come in?"

"Yes," he says releasing off me and wiping away his tears. The door opens to reveal Elanora and Dr. Nikishiko.

"Uh Dr. Nikishiko," Alan says, "What brings you here?"

"Well," she says walking over to the table by the window and sitting down, "I kinda feel bad abandoning you and sending you to hospice care, and I figured you deserved a formal apology from me."

"That's not necessary," he says, "Just accepting me for the surgery is an apology enough."

"Well, I want to update your medical record," she says, "So, I hope you don't mind being present here for dinner."

"No, not at all. I don't mind," he says.

"Dinner, for you Alan, is really just an assortment of different fruits and grains," Elanora says.

"That's fine," he says, "Let's just start with a apple and crossiant for now and see how that settles."

"Very well," she says placing a small plate in front of him with a crossiant and apple on it.

"Eric, would you like anything?" she asks.

"I'll be fine," I say, "I'm actually not that hungry, but thank you."

"Okay," she says, "Just let me know if you get hungry."

"I will," I say with a chuckle.

"So," Dr. Nikishiko says pulling out a vanilla folder and opening it up, "Everything basic is still the same, correct?"

"Correct," Alan says.

"Alright," she says, "Any added family members?"

"Yes," he says, "Eric Slingby."

"Okay," she says writing it down, "Relationship with individual?"

"Boyfriend," he says blushing slightly.

"Alright," she says, "Would you like him to be the primary caretaker once you leave the ICU? Even though you're a legal adult, you will need someone to take care of you while you recover out of the hospital."

"Sure," he says.

"Okay then," she says scribbling some stuff down on the paper, "Any other medical information that needs to be updated in your history?"

"I don't think so," he says, "Elanora, mind looking over that for me?"

"Sure!" she says taking the paper off of Dr. Nikishiko. I can see her scanning it over, but then handing it back to Dr. Nikishiko.

"Nope," Elanora says, "Nothing has changed."

"Excellent," Dr. Nikishiko says, "Is there any questions you have about the days to come?"

"Yeah," I say, "I would like to know about the Cardiac Catheterization test. I'm kinda nervous about it and I need some reassurance to commit to it."

"Well," she says, "You'll have to fast for six to twelve hours before the test. We're going to take you back and place electrodes on your body to record the electrical activity of your heart during the test. We'll have to give you a sedative through an IV to relax you a bit, which you're probably going to need since you seem nervous just by me talking about it. Now, since it seemed the problem was on the right side of your heart, we're going to have to send the catheter through your skin. But don't worry about that. A local anesthetic will be given to the necessary area. Shall I keep going?"

Alan takes hold of my left hand with his right hand and clenches it tightly. He starts to shake a little, but regains himself. He takes a deep breath and tells Dr. Nikishiko to continue.

"The rest you're not going to feel at all. The tube will be down near the heart as I collect what data I need in order for me to preform the surgery efficiently. Now, you may be asked to do things, like hold your breath or move your head slightly, to get a better view once the dye is inserted into the catheter. That way, we can see the arteries as the dye is being moved around. And that's about it."

The grip on my hand begins to loosen a bit.

"After the test, the catheter will be removed and your skin will be stitched up. You will then be transported to an observation room where I will keep Eric there waiting for you. I will come in periodically and monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature. The pulse, color, and temperature from the insertion site will also be monitored. Then, you will be sent back to your regular room by the end of the night. Feel a bit better, Alan?"

"Yeah," he says, "A whole lot better. But the only thing that's scaring me is the catheter insertation. I'm afraid I'm going mess something up and cause damage."

"Trust me," she says, "As long as you stay still and with the help of my professional team, you'll be perfectly fine. I have faith in you, Alan."

"Thank you, Dr. Nikishiko," he says, "Glad to know you have faith in me."

"I do in all my patients," she says, "Elanora, do you mind getting my lunch bag from the fridge in the break room?"

"Sure!" she says leaving the room.

"You're going to have dinner with us?!" Alan asks.

"Well, I kinda eat alone all the time," she replies, "Every once in a while, I like to eat with one of my patients and get to know them better. If you would like some quality time with Eric, I can leave."

"It's fine with me," I say turning to Alan.

"Alright," he says to Dr. Nikishiko, "But I hope you're not uncomfortable with how I eat."

"You need assistance to eat I take it?" she asks.

"Yeah," he says blushing with embarrassment, "Sometimes, but not always."

"Well, isn't that cute," she says, "Your relationship with Eric must be pretty strong."

"It is," I say, 

"It really is."  
~~~~~  
So I really wanted to make this chapter to explain basically everything you need to know medical wise about what Alan's going to go through in these upcoming chapters. I wanted this chapter to be informative and educational, but I really tried to make it as non-triggering as possible. I don't even know if I'll even put in the Cardiac Catheterization test. Leave a comment below with either "Yes" or "No" if you would like the test to be in the story. And it's okay to say no. That means that I should totally keep it out and not even make it. And therefore making more time to add more details to the fun that Alan and Eric will have. Also, apologies for the amount of the spelling errors as I could have missed some or really didn't know how to spell. So again, leave your opinion in the comments, and as always:

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	8. Chapter 8: Memories of Us

{Alan Pov}

"I'll be back, Alan," Eric says standing up, "I have to go home and pack more things if I'm going to be staying here overnight."

"Okay," I say. He leans over to me and kisses my forehead. "Love you."

"Love you too," he says walking out of the room as my face turns red.

"Again, well aren't you two a happy couple?" Dr. Nikishiko says. Suddenly the door opens to reveal Elanora with two lunch bags.

"Yeah," I say, "Two years in the making."

"You've been dating for two years?" Dr. Nikishiko asks as Elanora hands her a lunch bag and sits down across from her.

"No," I say, "We've known each other for two years. But we just started dating today."

"Really?" Dr. Nikishiko says, "Could've fooled me. Well, how did you two meet?'

"Well," I say, "It all started two years ago..."

(Flashback)

"Alright everyone!" William says at the staff meeting, "Today, I'm going to introduce to you someone new to this medical examination facility. State your name and a little bit about yourself, newcomer."

I stand up and begin to shake slightly.

"H-hi," I say, "M-my name is Alan Humphries. I just graduated f-from the top investigation college in the country and I-I-I'm looking forward to working with everyone."

I bow in respect as my face goes red. I felt like I made a fool of myself. Eventually, my face becomes so red that I just sit down with my head still bowed.

"Anyways," William says, "I have everyone's autopsy reports divided. Grell, you have five today."

"FIVE?!?!?" Grell screams, "God, my love, you're so cruel to me."

"For the last time, Mr. Sutcliff," William says kinda annoyed, "Do NOT call me love. I have no relationship with you that is outside of work."

"THAT'S MISS SUTCLIFF TO YOU!" Grell corrects William. I slowly begin to feel uncomfortable while they argue. My body shutters as my nerves begin to get shot. I begin shiver due to my anxiety.

"Hey, you okay?" a voice says to my right. I turn to see a man with blond hair half braided against his scalp and hanging loosely on the other side. He has thin rimmed glasses and is dressed in the same uniform as me.

"Uh, yeah," I say quickly and defensively, "Just nervous. You know how it is. First day on the job and everything."

"Hey, man," he says placing his left hand on my right shoulder, "It's gonna be okay. I was nervous too on my first day. I bet everyone here was nervous on their first day. It's not just you."

"Mr. Slingby," William says, "Would you like to be partnered up with Alan to show him the ropes?"

"Whatever you want boss," the man says taking his eyes off me and onto William.

"Good," William says, "Show him around the facility and take him to one of the crime scenes."

"Yes, boss," the man says standing up, "Come with me, Alan."

"R-right," I say standing up and following the man out the door and into the main office.

"Well, this is the office," he says, "Where all the filing and overtime takes place."

"Overtime?" I say, "Like how much overtime?"

"A lot," he says, "Like, almost everyday we're given overtime. But mostly, it's for those who don't get work done...Other known as me."

I chuckled slightly, but caught myself and stopped laughing immediently, face turning pink with embarrassment.

"Hey, it's okay to laugh at me," he says, "I like to consider myself a funny guy."

"A-are you sure?" I ask.

"Yeah. How else can I amuse myself?" he asks, "We need laughter in the joint. Otherwise, we'd all go insane!"

"You guys are that overworked to the point of insanity?!" I exclaimed.

"Yep, but you said you went to the top investigation college in the country, right?" he asks. I nod. "Then the work should be nothing compared to those who went to a smaller college."

"Am I the only one here that went to the top college in the country?" I ask.

"Yep," he says, "Guess you were a top student in high school."

"Valenvictorian of my entire graduating class," I say.

"Really?" he asks.

"Yeah. I know. I'm a nerd. You don't have to tell me that," I say bowing my head.

"No, that's not what I was going to say at all," he says, "I was going to say that you're going to be the smartest guy here and that even the long time employers will be asking you for help. And you just got hired!"

"Well, thank you," I say lifting my head back up, "That...That means a lot."

"You're welcome," he says, "Now, would you like to see the rest of the place?"

"Sure," I say.

We started moving along, but then...

"Wait!" I say, "What's your name? I never got it."

"Eric," he says with a smile and putting out his hand, "Eric Slingby."

"I'm Alan Humphries," I say shaking his hand, "Pleased to meet you."

(End of Flashback)

"And that's how we met," I tell Dr. Nikishiko, "Ever since then, we've been partners. We would do anything and everything together. If I was sick, Eric would come over my house and take care of me. And I did the same. We were the best of friends. And, now we're in a relationship. And to be honest, I didn't know what to think. In fact, I kinda felt uncomfortable at first. But now, my crippled heart is telling me that I love him. Even if he did abandon me for five months. I'm just happy he remembered me."

"I'm glad that you found him," Dr. Nikishiko says with a little bit of sandwhich in her mouth, "Now, it's my understanding that you were depressed at some point in hospice. Is that correct?"

"Yes," I say admittingly, "I was on an antidepressant for about two months, November and December. However, they picked one that wasn't going to damage anything in my body. And Elanora checked on my vitals every two hours to make sure nothing was wrong."

"Why do you think Eric forgot about you?" Dr. Nikishiko asks.

"You know, I ask that question everyday," I say, "Sometimes I think that he did remember me, but just didn't know how to cope. Other times, I legit thought he forgot about me. But, I never took of the watch that bonded out friendship, in hopes of one day he'll find me."

"I can confirm that," Elanora says, "He never took the damn thing off! Even when I tried to insert the IV in his hand once, he refused to take it off."

"Sorry that I had hope in my system," I say laughing slightly.

"It's fine," Elanora says, "So, what are you going to do with Eric for the week?"

"Well, he was taking me out actually," I say, "But I told him I wasn't sure if that was allowed."

"Well, it is allowed as long as I'm with you," Elanora says, "That means I'll have to get other nurses to tend to my other patients. Where do you plan on going?"

"Accordingly, my workplace," I say, "To see if anything has change in the last couple months I've been gone."

"Well, be sure to file the proper paperwork. In fact, let me fill it out for you. Besides, you'll be shaking too much to make it legible." Elanora says standing up and walking to the basket that has all my paperwork in it. She pulls out a sheet of paper and walks back to her seat.

"Well, that was brutally honest," I say.

"You've gotten weak, Alan?" Dr. Nikishiko asks.

"Yeah," I say, "Because of the fact that stress causes my attacks, I kinda gave up on doing things that stress me out. Instead, I do what I can that doesn't stress me out. Like writing lyrics and making original pieces. Hobbies, if you will."

"You sing?" Dr. Nikishiko asks.

"Was in chorus throughout my whole high school career," I say with a smile, "However, I quit in college. I couldn't see me going anywhere in music. I saw myself getting a good paying job. So I went to the top investigation college in the country on a scholarship that covered me for four free semesters."

"They give that big of a scholarship?!" Dr. Nikishiko screeches, looking like she was going to faint. I jump slightly as my ears begin to ring.

"Don't startle him, Dr. Nikishiko," Elanora says calmly, "He could get an attack."

"Sudden noises startle you?" Dr. Nikishiko asks.

"Yeah. I'm easily scared by a lot of things," I say shaking slightly, "That's why I constantly ask people to knock on the door lightly. That way, I don't get scared as much."

"I'll keep that in mind," Dr. Nikishiko says as I eat a bit more of my crossiant and regain myself.

"You know, there was a lot of things I didn't know about you till just now," Dr. Nikishiko tells me.

"Yeah," I say, "Well, I hope you got to know a little bit more about me. Maybe even too much information about me..."

"Nah," Dr. Nikishiko says, "It's not too much information. In fact, I think I have time for another story. But only if you want to."

"Well, what would you like to hear?" I ask.

"How about like..." Dr. Nikishiko thinks, "One moment on the job."

"Okay," I say, "Well, it was nine o'clock on a snowy Friday night in January..."

(Flashback)

We just got a call to retrieve a body outside of a local bar. The body was found bruised, scratched, and had articles of clothing missing from the woman's body. While Eric went inside the bar to see if anyone knew anything about the woman, I stayed outside, helping transport the body into the ambulance that would take her to our morgue to be examined later. After that was taken care of, I go back to the seen of the death. I like to call it the scene of the death and not the scene of the crime, because we don't know whether or not this was a crime yet.

Just then, a police officer walks up to me. He had short, blond hair, and his face was covered in dirt. Almost like an explosion blew up in his face.

"You the medical examiner on this case?" he asked me.

"Yeah?" I replied, "Why? Is there something I should know about this woman?"

"Not in particular, no," he said, "But it seems like this could be a rape and murder case."

"How would you know that?" I asked, "Were you there for the death?"

"The last bit of it, yes," he replied.

"Alright then," I said pulling out the small notebook and pen out of my suit jacket, "What all did you see? I would like to know for when I make the autopsy report."

"Well," he started, "I was just patrolling around the block, like I usually do. And suddenly, I hear a woman scream. So I rushed to where the sound came from and ended up seeing a man...well...he was...having his way with her. But as soon as he saw me, he ran down the alleyway. So I rushed after him and got into an altercation. For some odd reason, he was a lot stronger than his appearance."

"Anything else I should know about the victim?" I asked writing his name down in my notebook with other bits and pieces of information in there as well.

"Not really," he said, "By the looks of her, she seemed to have bashed her head off the pavement. But I think she was already dead before that."

"Well, thanks for your help," I said closing the notebook and sliding it back into my pocket.

"Anytime," he said. 

And with that, he walked away. I never even got his name. Suddenly, I saw Eric rush out of the bar and over to me.

"Did you figure out anything?" he asked me quickly, almost too quick for me to register what he said.

"Well, yeah," I said, "The woman has-"

"No time for that," he said grabbing my hand and pulling my arm as he runs down the sidewalk, forcing me to follow him as he wasn't letting go anytime soon.

"Where are we going?!" I screeched, "And what's the hurry?!"

"Well," he said as we continue to run like maniacs down the sidewalk, "I was asking around to figure out what happened to the woman, and I may have gotten into an altercation with the bartender."

"YOU WHAT?!" I screamed. Just then, I feel my arm being pulled down as Eric falls onto the sidewalk. I realized that I was on a piece of ice. I quickly regained my footing as I looked to see Eric clutching his right arm. I panicked.

"ERIC!" I said kneeling to his side. I looked behind to see that no one was chasing us.

"I think...ugh...we...mmph...lost him," he said trying to stand up.

"Nope," I said lightly pressing down on his shoulder, "Stay down for a bit. I will help you up in a minute." I stand up and find a patch of sidewalk that ISN'T covered in ice. I then helped Eric stand up with his good arm.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Must've fell on my arm and did something to it," he told me.

"I should probably get you to a hospital," I said taking his hand.

"Nah," he said, "I'll be fine." I stepped out in front of him to see his right sleeve uneven. I tried to fixed it, but he yelped in pain. His sleeve wasn't uneven. The unevenness was his bone.

"I think you fractured it," I said, "It looks like your bone is sticking out and resting against your skin. Eric, we have to go to a hospital before you cause more damage."

"Yeah," he said, "I guess you're right. Lets go."

(End of Flashback)

"And by the way, the bartender wasn't chasing us at all. But Eric did get into an altercation with him like he said...a verbal argument that Eric thought was going to lead to him getting jumped. Anyways, so we walked to my car and I drove him to the hospital that night. And I was right. He factured his arm. The doctor had to set it back into place, which Eric took really well. No sound of pain or nothing. He then ended up in a sling for about three weeks. And he was made fun of for those three weeks because of his last name."

All of a sudden, I hear Dr. Nikishiko laugh.

"To be honest, it is kinda funny," she says. Then I laugh. Hard.

"You're right," I say hardly able to form a sentence, "It is funny."

Just then, there's a knock on the door.

"Alan, it's Eric," I hear from outside of the room, "May I come in?"

"Of course," I say regaining myself. The door opens to reveal Eric with a duffle bag in his right hand.

"I see you'll be staying with us," Dr. Nikishiko says.

"Is that okay?" Eric asks.

"Of course," she says, "You are listed as his temporary caretaker. Just, shower at home."

"You got it!" he says setting the duffle bag on the floor on the right side of my bed and sitting down next to me. Just then, I heard a beeping noise.

"Well, my break is over," Dr. Nikishiko says, "It was great to get to know you a bit better, Alan."

"It was my pleasure," I say. Then, Dr. Nikishiko gathers herself and walks out of the room. Elanora gets up and comes over to me to adjust my IV fluids.

"Well, less fluids are going in," she says turning the knob on the IV drip bag, "But pretty much the same amount."

"That's fine," I say, "I didn't even really eat that much to begin with."

"Just make sure you eat more tomorrow at breakfast, okay?" she says.

"I will," I reply. And with that, she leaves the room, leaving me and Eric alone.

"So, is there a bed for me in here yet?" Eric asks me.

"I guess they assumed you would be sleeping on the pull out chair," I reply.

He then takes the chair from across the room and drags it over to the left side of my bed. He opens it up and pretty much jumps right on it.

"How fast did you drive?" I ask.

"I don't know," he says.

"You know, you didn't have to rush, right?" I say to him, "I know that you love me, but you don't have to kill yourself just to get back here. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

"I know," he says, "I just don't want to leave you anymore. I did that enough, didn't I? And besides...."

"I did say I would never leave your side, didn't I?"  
~~~~~~  
Wow! At the time I'm typing this chapter, we're almost one hundred reads! That's amazing. Thank you all so much for putting me in a position of pure joy. I never thought this story concept would work. And here we are. Your feedback constantly gives me the confidence I need to continue writing. So thank you guys so much for your support. And as always:

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	9. Chapter 9: The Unexpected Caller and Visitor

{Eric Pov}

"Alan, it's Eric," I say knocking on the door, "May I come in?"

"Of course," he says. I open the door and enter the room. I close the door and walk over to the right side of Alan's bed.

"I see you'll be staying with us," Dr. Nikishiko asks me.

"Is that okay?" I ask nervously.

"Of course," she says, "You are listed as his temporary caretaker. Just, shower at home."

"You got it!" I say setting my red duffle bag on the floor and sitting down. I hear a small beeping noise coming from Dr. Nikishiko's direction.

"Well, my break is over," Dr. Nikishiko says, "It was great to get to know you a bit better, Alan."

"It was my pleasure," he says. Then, Dr. Nikishiko takes herself and walks out of the room. Elanora gets up and goes over to Alan to adjust his IV fluids.

"Well, less fluids are going in," she says turning the knob on the IV drip bag, "But pretty much the same amount."

"That's fine," he says, "I didn't even really eat that much to begin with."

"Just make sure you eat more tomorrow at breakfast, okay?" she says.

"I will," he replies. And with that, she leaves the room, leaving me and Alan alone. Together at last.

"So, is there a bed for me in here yet?" I ask.

"I guess they assumed you would be sleeping on the pull out chair," he tells me.

I get up and grab the chair from across the room. I bring it over to the left side of the bed, open it up, and lay down on it, face buried into the pillow.

"How fast did you drive?" Alan asks.

"I don't know," I say. I honest don't remember, but I do remember that I was at least above the speed limit.

"You know, you didn't have to rush, right?" he tells me, "I know that you love me, but you don't have to kill yourself just to get back here. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

"I know," I say picking my head up off the pillow, "I just don't want to leave you anymore. I did that enough, didn't I? And besides....I did say I would never leave your side, didn't I?"

He blushes as he bows his heads and smiles.

"Yeah," he says, "You did say you would never leave me."

"Exactly," I say, "And I don't intend on leaving you anytime soon. You mean a lot to me, you know?"

"Yeah," he says, "I know." I bring my right hand onto his left hand and hold it gently. It's silent for a few seconds as I listen to Alan's heart monitor beeping at a calm and consistent beat.

"How you feeling?" I ask.

"Better, but tired," he says, "I'm just...so happy that I'm getting the help I need. I fought for so long and I felt like giving up. But now I got the surgery. And I couldn't be any happier than this."

"I'm glad you're happy," I say. Suddenly, I begin to see Alan drift off. He looks severely tired as the grip on my hand begins to loosen a bit. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he says, "Just tired. Crazy day, you know? So much went on. But for some reason, I'm not stressed. Not one bit. And I don't know why. Maybe...maybe it's because you're here with me and you're walking me through it."

I smile as I blush slightly. I can't believe I'm fixing him just by being present in his life. Suddenly, I get a phone call.

It's Grell.

I pick up the call and put him on speaker.

"Yeah Grell?" I ask.

"Why hello, Eric!" he says loudly, "I saw that you didn't come in to work."

"Yeah," I say, "I'm at the hospital right now."

"WHAT?!?!?" he screams, "Are you okay?!?!?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," I say, "I'm here visiting a friend."

"And who might that be?" he asks.

"Do you remember a man named Alan Humphries?" I ask him.

"Of course!" he says, "I remember him like the back of my hand! He was such a good guy. Why do you ask?"

I turn to Alan and whisper to him:

"Say something."

"Hi, Grell," he says weakly.

"ALAN?!" Grell screams, "IS THAT REALLY YOU?!"

"Yep," Alan replies, "It's me."

"Oh my god!" Grell says, "Where have you been?"

"In the hospital?" Alan says, "I've been here for a while now."

"Really?" Grell says, "How long have you been there?"

"Five months," Alan replies.

"When did you go?" Grell asks.

"September eighth," Alan responds.

"That's right," Grell says, "I remember now....."

"Something the matter, Grell?" Alan asks.

"No...it's just," Grell begins, "I feel bad. I remembered you had frequent heart pains and I shouldn't have freaked and stressed you out. I still live with that kind of guilt even to this day. I'm sorry."

Wow! Grell is actually not as crazy as I thought he was...

"Don't be," Alan says, "Tell you what, I'm at the Nikishiko Memorial Hospital in room two sixty two. If you wanna stop by after work, you can. The visiting hours are until ten."

"You...want to see me?" Grell asks, "After all that happened?"

"Why would I not let you see me?" Alan says laughing slightly, "We are co-workers after all. When are you done at work?"

"At seven," Grell replies, "But I'm sure William is going to try to give me overtime. I'll just tell him that I have something to do. Besides, I do have a cat I have to provide for."

"Alright," Alan says, "I'll see you around seven fifteen? Seven thirty?"

"Sounds good to me!" Grell says, "See you then!"

"See you then," Alan says. I hang up my phone and slide it into my pocket.

"Wow," I say, "I never seen Grell so caring..."

"Hey," Alan says, "We all had to work with him in one way or another. You just never see the compassionate side of him."

"You've...seen the compassionate side of him?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says, "He visited me when I was first in the hospital, but he stopped in November. I never actually knew why. But, he did call me on occasions on the hospice phone once I was moved there."

"That's...actually really nice of him," I say. Just then, I hear a clock strike for the hour. Seven o'clock. Grell is now going to attempt to get out of work.

"I hope he can get out of work," Alan says, "I kinda really want to see him. I miss his craziness at the office."

"Don't you miss the office in general?" I ask.

"Well, yeah," he says, "It was my home away from home. It was the one place I actually had fun working in."

"Why are you saying it like you're never going to work there ever again?" I ask.

"Well, I don't know what's going to happen after the surgery," he says, "I can die for all I know."

"You're not going to die, Alan," I say putting both my hands on top of his left hand, "Not while I'm around."

"Thanks for the reassurance," he says. Because our beds are at the same level, Alan was able to put his head on my shoulder and drift off to sleep a bit.

"You okay, Alan?" I ask.

"Mmm hmm," he says with his eyes still closed.

"You're not gonna pass out on me, right?" I ask.

"I make no promises," he says shifting in his bed a bit to get comfortable.

"But you're gonna miss Grell if you fall asleep," I say.

"Can't I just fall asleep and you wake me up when he gets here?" he asks.

"You can try," I say, "How deep do you sleep?"

"Lightly," he says, "I can wake up instantly to almost anything."

"Alright," I say placing my right arm over his back, "Go to sleep. I'll be here."

He wraps his arms around my waist and snuggles into my chest. He falls asleep rather quickly as I too start to become tired. I look at the clock from across the room. Seven oh five. I close my eyes, but quickly open them by a knock at the door. Now, the clock reads seven forty five. Forty minutes Alan and I slept. I look down at Alan to find him still asleep.

"Alan," I hear Elanora say from outside the door, "You have a visitor."

"Send them in," I reply quietly. The door opens to reveal Elanora and Grell.

Well, shit!

"Oh my," Elanora says, "I didn't know you two were having a moment. Should I escort Mr. Sutcliff out?"

"It's fine," I say, "Just don't get too loud, Grell."

"Can do," he says.

"Would you like me to stay, Mr. Slingby?" Elanora asks.

"I think we'll be fine," I say, "But thanks."

"You're welcome," she says bowing, "I shall take my leave then." And with that, she exits the room. Grell stares awkwardly at us for a minute, but then closes his eyes and shakes his head back and forth quickly.

"Am I seeing things?" he says staring at me, "Are you two a couple?"

"I mean," I say, "We've only been technically dating for not even twenty four hours."

"I guess William wasn't happy when he found that little tidbit out," he says sitting down at the table near the window and crossing his legs.

"He wasn't," I confess rubbing circles on Alan's back in an attempt to keep him calm and asleep, "He got mad at me when he was visiting and said he didn't like the relationship we were having. I assume he has a grudge against gay couples."

"Well, he has a grudge on anything that isn't normal," he says, "And that's a fact of life. You'll always have those kind of people that won't approve of you. I mean, how do you think I feel? I keep saying to William to refer to me as a female, but he always gives me this look and the just continues on like I didn't even say anything to him. Yes, it's annoying. But you learn to live with it after a while."

"So...you approve of us?" I ask.

"Of course!" he says, "From one unique person to another, I still accept you two for who you are. And that is humans."

"That's...really kind of you, Grell," I say, "I appreciate that you will accept us. In return, I will call you whatever gender you want to be called."

"So you will refer to me as a female?!" he says, face lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"Sure," I say.

"THANK YOU!!!" Grell screams. 

I instantly shush him as I see Alan jump a little in his sleep. However, he snuggles back into my chest, head on top of my heart, and falls back to sleep, most likely listening to my heartbeat. I wrap my arms around him and pull him a bit closer to me in hopes my warmth will keep him from getting any colder than he already is. He shivers for a bit, but then relaxes, almost like he's melting into my arms.

"Sorry," Grell whispers.

"It's okay," I whisper "I just don't want you to scare him. He gets attacks really easily if he gets scared."

"Attacks?" he asks, "What attacks?"

"Remember the last day you saw him?" I ask.

"Yeah?" he says, "He had some chest pain and he ended up passing out.....That's his attacks?"

"Yeah," I say, "And over the course of the past five months, they've gotten worse. That's why he constantly on oxygen and has a heart and breathing monitor. To make sure if he DOES have an attack, they can send help before he passes out."

"Oh...I never knew that..." he says, "I never knew he got worse...He lied to me this whole time...He kept saying that he was getting better...When really...he was getting worse...And I believed him...God! How could I have not noticed this?!"

Just then, Alan shifts a bit and groans.

"Is Grell here yet?" Alan asks tiredly.

"Yes," Grell says quietly, "I'm here."

"Eric, why didn't you wake me?" Alan whines sitting up slowly.

"Because," I say, "You looked so peaceful and I decided to let you sleep a bit longer."

Suddenly, Alan's face turns red as I can see him put his head in his hands.

"Ugh," he says clutching his head tightly, "Eric, do you think you can get Elanora?"

"What's wrong?" I ask placing the back of my right hand on his forehead. His head drenched in sweat and almost burning.

"I need painkillers for this headache," he says as I pull my hand off his forehead.

"Sure," I say. 

I get up and exit the room. I look both ways down the hallway and make my way to the reception desk. I arrive to see Elanora sitting at the desk, working on paperwork.

"Um...Elanora," I say getting her attention.

"Oh!" she says, "Hi Eric. What can I do for you? I presume that you need something for Alan."

"Yeah. He got a headache when he woke up and sent me to ask you for some painkillers," I say.

"Oh, I can do that," she says, "Follow me."

She gets up and escorts me down the hall and to the medicine storage room. She opens the door and heads in as I wait outside. She comes back ten second later with a small medicine cup with painkillers in it. She closes the door and heads down the hall with me following close behind. We get to Alan's room and she knocks on the door lightly.

"Alan," she says, "It's me."

"Come in," I hear Alan say. She opens the door as we enter the room. I make my way back to my bed as Elanora helps Alan take the painkillers.

"Thank you," Alan says, "Usually I don't take these. But the headache was really bad this time. Sorry to disturb you."

"It's fine, Alan," she says, "It's my job to help you. Is there anything else you need?"

"No. That's it," he says.

"Very well," she says bowing and then exiting the room.

"I guess I got a slight fever and a headache when I was sleeping," Alan tells me, "Must've slept the wrong way."

"Well, you were on my chest," I say laughing slightly, "Not exactly the softest thing in the world."

"But it was comfortable," Alan wines.

"I know," I say, "So, did you hold a conversation while I was gone?"

"Yeah," Alan says, "He was telling me about Ronald's massive hangover."

"Is he okay?" I ask.

"Yeah," Grell says, "He just came into work today totally hungover and ended up throwing up on William's shoes."

"Oh my god," I say, "Was he punished?"

"Well, he was for coming into work with a hangover," Grell says, "Then, William drove him home, which was like three blocks away from the office. Apparently, he walked all the way to work today."

"How is that even possible?!" Alan exclaims.

"To be honest, the whole office was asking that question," Grell says, "However, when William came back about an hour and a half later, I saw a small spot on his neck that was red. Almost like a love bite..."

Me and Alan look at each other, wide eyed in disbelief.

"Did...Ronald give him a love bite?" Alan asks.

"Who knows?" Grell replies, "Maybe it was the leftover alcohol in his system that triggered him to do that. But maybe it was something else."

"William can't be gay," I say, "He is as straight as a two by four. And Ronald...well.....Ronald is more into the ladies that the men. But honestly, I can see him going either way."

"Yeah. I guess you're right," Grell says. Just then, I hear a beeping noise coming from Grell's direction. "Well, I have to get going. William expects me in for seven since I denied staying for overtime tonight."

"Hey, you do what you got to do," Alan says, "But I appreciate if you drop by every once in a while. I like seeing different faces."

"I will," Grell says getting up and walking over to the door, "Well, I will leave you two alone. Have a nice night, guys."

"You too!" Alan and I say as Grell leaves the room.

"So..." Alan says turning to me, "What did I miss?"

"Well," I start, "We were just having a friendly chat about William being a homophobe."

"So...I didn't really miss anything," he says.

"Pretty much," I say. Alan then lays back down on my chest over my heart and snuggles in. I grab my blanket towards the end of the bed and wrap it around the both of us.

"Well, aren't you tired," I say making the final adjustments.

"Mmm hmm," he says closing his eyes.

"Are you listening to my heart there?" I ask.

"Mmm hmm," he says.

"Good to know," I say.

And with that, darkness engulfs me as I fall asleep.  
~~~~~  
Boring chapter, I know. But hear me out. At the time I'm writing this, I'm starting to suffer from Writer's Block and I'm trying to figure out what to do next. But don't worry. I will give updates whenever I can. Thank you for your patience and as always:

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	10. Chapter 10: So Close to Being Reality

WARNING! THE DREAM SEQUENCE MENTIONS THE TOPIC OF SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION! IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY THESE TOPICS, PLEASE SCROLL PAST UNTIL YOU SEE *****! THANK YOU!

{Alan Pov}

The door opens to reveal Eric walking into his room. His whole face is red with tear streaks down his cheeks. He lays on his bed as I walk over to him from the corner I was standing in. I look over to his end table to see a bunch of antidepressants and sleeping pills in bottles. I sit on the bed and attempt to rub his back, but my hand goes right through him. My eyes grow wide as I look behind me to find a pair of white feathered wings on my back.

It seems that the surgery wasn't successful and I passed on.

He gets up off the bed and walks over to his closet. I get off the bed and rush over to him. He's opened up his safe and pulls out a gun. My eyes grow wide as I know exactly what he's going to do. He walks back to his bed and lays back down on it. I start screaming to him to stop what he's doing, but he can't hear me. I'm merely invisible to him. He brings the gun to his head and pulls the trigger.

*****

My eyes open right up as I find myself covered in sweat. My breathing is shallow and my heart rate begins to spike up. I clutch my chest in pain as I try to steady myself, but I start to slip down into an attack. I look up to see Eric sound asleep. I start to think about what I can do to stop it. I try deep breathing, but it does nothing. Tears start streaming down my face as I shuffle a bit in my bed to get away from Eric. Unfortunately, I wake up Eric when I do move. So much for taking care of this on my own. More tears come out of my eyes as he looks down at me with concern.

"Alan?" Eric asks, "What's wrong?"

My eyes are now filled with tears to the point where I can't even see. I clutch onto Eric for dear life as I sob and shake uncontrollably. He slowly wraps his arms around me and positions my head over his heart.

"Bad dream, Alan?" he asks me. I couldn't even form words. I keep on shaking and sobbing as the nightmare keeps on playing in my head.

"It's okay, Alan," he says quietly as he runs his hand through my hair gently, "I'm here. You don't have to tell me what happened. Just try to breathe and relax."

"I-I-It felt s-s-s-so real, Eric," I say sobbing, "I t-thought you actually d-d-did it."

"Did what, Alan?" he asks.

"Killed yourself!" I screech, "You killed yourself due to grief and I witnessed it!"

"It's okay," he tells me, "I'm here. And I'm clearly alive and well."

"N-N-Now I really d-d-d-don't want to die!" I say, "I d-don't want you to j-j-join me if I d-do!"

"What?" he says.

"You killed yourself...because I died," I admit, "The surgery failed, I was an angel, and I witnessed you kill yourself. I screamed my lungs off trying to stop, but I was invisible to you. You shot yourself right in the head."

"Oh Alan," he says holding my head against his heart, "It was just a dream. It's okay to cry. I'm not leaving your side till you feel better."

"Please, Eric," I say clutching onto him, "If I die, please don't follow me. I BEG OF YOU! PLEASE ERIC! I WILL WRITE IT IN MY FUCKING WILL IF IT MEANS YOU DON'T FOLLOW ME AND LEAVE THIS WORLD!"

"Alan, you're not going to die," he says, "I can promise you. You're not going to die."

"But what if I do?!" I screech, "What will you do if I leave this world?!"

Silence.

"I'm not sure what I would do, to be honest," he tells me, bringing me a bit closer to his chest.

"You know how unsettling that is to me?" I ask, "To know that you LITERALLY can't live without me?!"

Just then, I hear a knock on the door.

"Alan," I hear Elanora say, "I have to take your order for breakfast. May I come in?"

"Sure," I say trying to regain myself. Elanora comes in to see me on Eric's chest.

"Well, aren't you two cute together," she says, "How'd you two sleep?"

"Well," I say still laying on Eric's chest, "I may have had a nightmare."

"Oh dear!" she says, "Well, I can assure you that it was just a dream and it didn't happen. Dreams can be scary sometimes. However, we come to realize that some dreams just couldn't be realistic. Just because you dreamed it, doesn't mean it will come true."

"Yeah. I guess your right," I say.

"So," she says, "What would you like for breakfast?"

"A muffin...again," I say.

"Alright," she says, "However, your fluid amount that will be administered will be much higher."

"Okay...two muffins?" I ask. She laughs slightly.

"Fine," she says, "Two muffins and...what would you like Eric?"

"Same as him," he says.

"Okay," she says, "Four muffins. What kind though?"

"Whatever you want, Alan," he says.

"Umm.." I say thinking, "Blueberry?"

"You got it!" she says leaving, "I'll be right back."

She leaves the room as Eric kisses me on my head.

"Feel a bit better?" he asks me.

"Yeah," I say snuggling into his chest, "At least I got reassured that not all things in dreams can happen."

"I'm glad you feel better," he says, "Now, promise me you'll eat breakfast on your own today."

"What do you mean by that?" I ask looking up at him as my stomach grumbles a bit.

"Like...not having to beg for you to eat," he says, "It really hurts to see that you're not eating sometimes. You need those calories in order to get stronger. And you will need to eat after the surgery to be able to go back to work."

"I'll try my best," I say as my stomach starts to feel queasy, "But just so you know, I'm really not that hungry right now."

"Are you always never hungry in the morning?" he asks. Suddenly, my stomach growls loudly. I now realize that my stomach doesn't want food.

"Well...I kinda feel...nauseous...at the moment," I say trying not to vomit. I sit up quickly and try to contain it, but failing. I give up after a while as I can feel it coming up my throat. "Eric, get the garbage can. Now."

Eric quickly runs over to the other side of the room and grabs the garbage can from off the floor. He rushes over to me and puts in front of me as I...well...throw up. On and off. For about a minute. Eventually my stomach empties and I feel awful. Sweat runs down my face as I can feel my body temperature rise to extreme levels. I hear Elanora bust in and quickly tries to figure out my vitals.

"Alan," she says taking the garbage can off me, "What happened?"

"Nausea I presume," Eric responds for me, '"Is he gonna be okay?"

"Yes. Nausea is a common side effect of Coronary Artery Disease," she says walking into the bathroom and grabbing a wet washcloth, "He has gotten nausea before, but it's been a couple months since he's shown any of the normal side effects of his disease...Unless...Alan, have you been hiding your side effects from me?"

Shit!

"Well..." I say lying down as Elanora places the washcloth on my forehead, "Yes. I've been fighting to keep these things to myself. I...just didn't want to be a burden."

"Oh, Alan," Eric says, "Why would you think you are a burden?"

"I don't know," I say bowing my head and shivering slightly, Just then, Eric lightly wraps his left hand around my chin and lifts my head up to his eye level.

"Alan, you will never, and I mean never, be a burden," he says, "To me, or Elanora. You have to tell us if something is wrong. We care about you, alright?"

"Okay," I say still shaking. Eric takes the blanket from my bed and pulls it up to my neck. I slowly begin to see my body temperature levels lower. Elanora begins to adjust my fluids as Eric sits back down in his bed and takes my left hand into his right hand.

"Okay," she says, "Well, your fluids are a little bit high, but that will substitute for you not eating today."

"How did you know I wasn't planning on eating today?" I ask.

"I just know," she says, "Anyways, someone has sent a letter to hospice care for you and they transfered it over here. It's from Mr. Spears." She takes an envelope out of her pocket and hands it to me with my free hand.

"Thank you," I say.

"Well, I have some paperwork to do," she says, "If you need anything, just have Eric get me."

"Will do," I say. And with that, she leaves the room. Eric and I remain silent for a bit as I stare at the letter in my right hand.

"What's wrong, Alan?" Eric asks.

"Uh nothing!" I lie shaking my head.

"Alan..." he says not buying my lie, "What's wrong?"

"I'm nervous..." I say, "What will the letter say? Will William never want to see us again? Will he completely shatter our relationship?"

"Didn't you listen to Grell yesterday?" he asks, "Why should you care what anybody thinks of us? It only matters what we are in our eyes as a couple."

"I guess you're right," I say. I let go of Eric's hand and open the letter to see writing written on a sheet of copy paper. Almost like a ransom note and he wrote right off the top of his head. No thought process. I open it up to find almost a whole page worth of writing. I skim it to find that the letter isn't going to be a pleasant 

"Would you like me to read it, Alan?" Eric asks me.

"Uh...sure," I say handing him the letter. He clears his throat and begins reading.

Dear Mr. Humphries,

It has been said to me by your "significant other" that you are apparently  you have turned your sexuality around and have begun dating another person that is not of the opposite gender. I'm not saying I am against gay rights, but I do not believe that Mr. Slingby is the right choice for you. If you can recall all the stories I have told you, I have pretty much told you how Mr. Slingby isn't the most eligible man to be in a relationship at the moment. He is already distracted by things that don't particularly pertain to his work and/or anything for that matter. So why take that risk?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this relationship will not be accepted in my facility. Again, I'm not saying I am against gay rights. Far from it. But I feel like your relationship will make certain people feel uncomfortable in our offices. I hope you can understand these reasons behind my decisions. I cannot have anyone feel uncomfortable in my facility to the point of quitting or putting the both of your lives in danger.  I'm sorry for this, but it is the better thing to do for all of us.

Sincerely,

William T Spears

Suddenly, Eric takes the note and crumbles it up angrily and tosses it across the room.

"Dammit, Spears!" he says, "Why does he fucking care how are relationship functions?!"

"Eric, you need to calm-" I begin to tell him.

"No, Alan! I'm not going to calm the fuck down!" he yells at me, "This is fucking serious! He's trying to ruin our relationship! I'm not gonna just sit here and let this happen."

Tears begin to fall out of my eyes as he stands up off his bed. But before he can get any further away from me, my left hand quickly wraps around his right wrist.

"Please, Eric!" I screech, "Don't leave! It's not worth picking a fight with William over our relationship! Who cares if he doesn't like what we're doing?! What's important is that we love each other and we shouldn't let anyone else determine our future!"

He says nothing. His body still tense and tight as I tighten my grip, preventing him from moving any farther away for me.

"Eric...Please.....Don't do this," I say, "I know you're angry, but violence is not the option. I know I'm starting to sound a bit cheesy, but it's true. What is fighting with him going to do? He's not going to change, Eric. No matter what you'll do, he won't change."

Eric and I begin to hear my heart monitor. He turns his head slightly to see that my heart rate is spiking into dangerous levels. My grip on him starts to grow loose as all the strength in my body is slowly depleting. I start to shake as my eyes start to flutter shut. My head starts pounding as I lay back in my bed. I see Eric turn around and look at me as I get weaker and weaker by the second.

"Alan!" he says rushing back to my side as my eyes begin to close. It's at this point that I can feel Eric shaking my whole body, trying to get me awake, but failing miserably. My eyes flutter shut as I fall asleep.

"Alan...Alan..." I heard a male voice call me. I open my eyes to find myself in a bar with Eric and Ronald.

"Alan!" Eric said hitting my cheek lightly, "Is anybody in there?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, "I'm here."

"Really?" Ronald said, "You seemed to be in deep thought there."

"Well, I'm kinda nervous being here," I said, "I don't think we should be drinking when we all have to be in for work tomorrow."

"Oh come on, Alan," Eric said nudging me slightly, "Loosen up a bit. Besides, what is William gonna do? He can't control what we do outside of work."

"I mean...I guess you're right," I said admittingly ordering a beer. 

The rest of the night was kinda blurry. I know for a fact that Eric and Ronald got way too drunk as I nearly got sick over my first beer. At the end of the night, Ronald stumbled home, leaving Eric and I still at the bar. Eric must have a liver of steel because he still had a bit of awareness left.

"Areyouokay?" Eric slurred.

"Not really," I said, "I feel like I'm going to be sick."

"Letsgetyouhomethen," he slurred again.

I remembered he called a taxi and brought us to his house. When we got out of the cab, Eric slung my right arm across his shoulders and walked with him into the house. He then walked me up the stairs and into his bed. He slept on the couch in his room that night as I slept like a rock sprawled out in his bed. 

The next morning, I got a pounding headache and felt like throwing up. I opened my eyes to see Eric up and eating toast. I lean forward a bit as I felt the vomit coming. Eric noticed my position and grabbed the small garbage can from across the room and placed it in front of me. I got rid of all the content in my stomach as Eric rubbed my back in circles afterwards.

"Man, you really can't hold alcohol, can you?" he asked me.

"I never drank before," I admitted.

"Well, you may have to take off for a few days then," Eric told me, "But don't worry."

"I'll take care of you"

I feel an electric sensation pulse through my chest as my eyes bolt open to see Dr. Nikishiko on my right and Elanora on my left, leaning over me.

"His heart is stable, doctor," I hear a nurse says.

Dr. Nikishiko takes my right wrist into her left hand and begins to take my pulse as Elanora begins to send more oxygen through my system.

"What happened?" I ask, surprised that my voice is awfully quiet.

"Alan," Dr. Nikishiko says.

"Your heart stopped."  
~~~~~  
Oh no! What happened to Alan? Why did he sink into darkness? And how did Eric feel during this incident? There's only one way to find out. Tune into the next chapter. And as always:

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	11. Chapter 11: Guilt

{Eric Pov}

I take William's note and crumble it up angrily and toss it across the room.

"Dammit, Spears!" I scream, "Why does he fucking care how are relationship functions?!"

"Eric, you need to calm-" Alan says calmly.

"No, Alan! I'm not going to calm the fuck down!" I yell at him, "This is fucking serious! He's trying to ruin our relationship! I'm not gonna just sit here and let this happen."

I stand up off my bed and begin to walk out of the room. But before I can get any further away from Alan, his left hand quickly wraps around my right wrist.

"Please, Eric!" he screeches, "Don't leave! It's not worth picking a fight with William over our relationship! Who cares if he doesn't like what we're doing?! What's important is that we love each other and we shouldn't let anyone else determine our future!"

I say nothing. My body is still tense and as he tightens his grip, preventing me from moving any farther away for him.

"Eric...Please.....Don't do this," he says, "I know you're angry, but violence is not the option. I know I'm starting to sound a bit cheesy, but it's true. What is fighting with him going to do? He's not going to change, Eric. No matter what you'll do, he won't change."

Alan and I begin to hear his heart monitor. I turn my head slightly to see that his heart rate is spiking into dangerous levels. His grip on me starts to grow loose. I turn around and look at Alan as I see him get weaker and weaker by the second.

"Alan!" I yell rushing to his side as his eyes begin to close. I take him by the shoulders and try to shake him awake, but his eyes are closed shut as I hear his heart rate continue to rise. I hear loud footsteps from outside the door as I begin to hear a loud ear ringing noise coming from inside the room.

Alan is flat lining.

The door busts open to reveal Dr. Nikishiko, Elanora, and one other nurse. I back as far as I can away from Alan as I attempt to stay out of the medical personnels' way. Then, they get out what I wished they hadn't. The defibrillator. I turned away as I didn't want to see anything that they were doing. All I can do is listen.

"CLEAR!" I hear Dr. Nikishiko yell as I can hear the shock being administered. Silence. Still flat line.

"Higher, Elanora," Dr. Nikishiko says as she preps for another shock. "CLEAR!"

Nothing.

"Even higher," Dr. Nikishiko says, "CLEAR!"

Finally, I hear the heart monitor beeping again and a deep inhale behind me.

"His heart is stable, Doctor," I hear the one nurse say as I turn around to see nurses surrounding Alan.

Silence...Then...

"What happened?" I hear a quiet voice ask.

"Alan," Dr. Nikishiko says, "Your heart stopped." I start to shake as my eyes fill with tears. Alan almost died. He almost died because of me.

"What?" he asks as his heart rate goes up again.

"Calm down," Dr. Nikishiko says, "We're trying to ensure your safety right now. So just relax and we'll take care of you." 

Dr. Nikishiko turns around and motions me to come by him. I slowly walk over to him and sit on my bed as my right hand intertwines with his left hand. Alan says nothing. He doesn't even look at me. He looks straight ahead, presumingly in minor shock at what was just said to him. 

His face, white as a ghost. 

His hand ice cold. 

Tears are still coming out of my eyes as my whole body shakes. The voices in my head are getting louder and louder. 

"This is all your fault!"

"He almost died because of you!"

"You almost killed him!" 

"What were you thinking?!"

My grip on Alan's hand gets tighter and tighter as I shake uncontrollably. Alan turns his head to me and shows me a face filled with worry and concern. But regains himself and plasters a look of confidence over his face.

"Eric," he whispers, "Please. Don't cry. I'll be okay."

"This is all my fault," I whisper back, "If it weren't for me, you'd be fine and not scared at the moment."

"Alan, it seems that your heart was under a large amount of stress and tension," Dr. Nikishiko says, "Just a severe pain that cut off circulation in your chest. Mr. Slingby, are you aware of anything that may have caused it?"

"Yes," I say, "We were reading a letter and I got mad. Alan tried to calm me down, but I yelled at him out of spite of anger. He had a grip on me to keep me from leaving the room. The grip was rather tight, I'll give him that. He must've stressed out and went into the state that he was."

"I see," Dr. Nikishiko says, "Well, Mr. Slingby, we can't have Alan stressing out anymore than he has so far. Otherwise we'll have to run an emergency surgery. And I can't exactly do that without the information from the tests that are going to be preformed tomorrow and Tuesday."

"I will try," I say.

"Miss Midford," Dr. Nikishiko says turning to the blond haired nurse, "Elanora has other patients to tend to. Since you have just relieved most of you patients, would you mind monitoring Alan for a few hours?"

"You got it, Mrs. Nikishiko!" she says.

"Excellent," Dr. Nikishiko says, "Well, I'm off to a surgery. I will be back to check on you afterwards, Alan."

"Okay," he says weakly. And with that, she leaves the room with Elanora. The nurse walks over to grab his file and sits in a chair from across the room.

"So, uh, what's your name?" Alan asks the nurse, regaining a bit of strength in his voice.

"Elizabeth Midford," she says, "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Humphries. And who are you?"

"Eric Slingby," I reply.

"Nice to meet you too!" she says, "Well, I have to read your file in order to figure out how to treat you, Alan. Do you mind if I take a look?"

"Go right ahead," he says. Elizabeth opens up his file and starts to read through everything.

"Alright," she says, "You have had Coronary Artery Disease for the past five months. Was admitted on September eighth. Had three Angioplasties. Was admitted into hospice care for three to four months. Has now listed a spouse as of yesterday who will be caretaker once passed the recovery stage in the hospital-"

"Woah woah woah woah woah!" Alan says stopping Elizabeth dead in her tracks, "Spouse?!"

"Uh...Yes. Eric Slingby," she replies. His heart rate goes up again as the grip on my hand tightens slightly. His face grows red and his body shakes. I get a little closer to him and begin to rub circles on his back to try to relax him. And slowly, but surely, he relaxed.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Humphries?" she asks him.

"Well," Alan starts.

"We've only been dating for two days," I finish, "We're not even close to being married."

"Hmm..." she says, "Well, I guess Mrs. Nikishiko decided to put Mr. Slingby down as a spouse in order to ensure him as your caretaker."

"Oh," Alan says, "That make sense." 

All of a sudden, I feel Alan's whole body shudder and his breathing becomes shallow. I move a bit closer to him. And continue to rub his back.

"Are you alright, Mr. Humphries?" Elizabeth asks.

"Yeah," he replies, "Just...scared. I almost died...I don't think I will ever NOT remember what it was like to feel the electric pulse go through my chest and body." I reach over to Alan and pull him gently into my arms. I can feel his tears get soaked up into my t-shirt and his whole body shake as he begins to hyperventilate.

"It's okay," I say running my right hand through his soft hair, "It's okay to be scared. I'm so sorry that you had to experience that. This is all my fault....."

Tears begin to fall out of my eyes again. I look up to see Elizabeth staring at the both of us with concern. She walks over with a box of tissues and places them in between Alan and I. I grab one and brush it against Alan's cheeks, wiping away the tear streaks. He sinks into my chest as he keeps shaking and breathing shallowly. I then remember a song of sorts that always seemed to calm me down. And I never knew why. I wait till my tears stop coming out of my eyes and regain myself. I take a deep breath and begin.

( Yuya Matsushita – Bird [kanji/romaji lyrics + eng…: http://youtu.be/zI8VzNXsuAg )

And with that, Alan calms down and even drifts off to sleep on my chest, right over my heart like always.

"You know," Elizabeth starts, "You are a good singer."

"I wouldn't consider myself that," I say.

"But you are!" she says insisting, "I mean, look at Mr. Humphries. He calmed down and dosed right off to sleep. That's true love right there."

"Thank you, Elizabeth," I say.

"Please. Call me Lizzy," she says.

"Very well, Lizzy," I say.

Silence.

"Well, will you and Elanora be taking care of Alan now?" I ask.

"Well, after the whole incident, I will be monitoring him for twelve hours during the day and Elanora will be monitoring him for twelve hours at night," she says, "This'll continue for the next two days to ensure his safety through the tests and in general."

I don't say a word. All I can do is nod my head.

"You seem frail, Mr. Slingby," she says, "When was the last time you ate?"

"Yesterday," I say, "In fact, twenty four hours ago at breakfast."

"Yikes!" she says shocked, "You need you eat. Would you like me to get something for you?"

"Umm..." I say, "A bagel will be fine."

"Okay!" she says standing up, "I will be back in two minutes. Think you can keep an eye on Mr. Humphries for me while I'm out?"

"Well, I mean," I say, "I'm not really going anywhere."

"Okay," she says rushing out of the room. I look down at Alan to see him fast asleep. I admire how cute he looks as a small smile appears across my face. He moves slightly and mumbles in his sleep.

"Don't worry," I whisper to him, "You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'll protect you and keep you from harm's way. I promise."

Suddenly, I tune into what Alan is saying.

"Don't.....Please........" he mumbles, "Don't do this............Why?...What are you doing with that?.....No...No....."

"Alan?" I ask shaking him slightly. 

"Don't touch him. I beg of you," he mumbles a bit louder, "Why are you doing this?.....No...No.....NO!"

I feel him shift slightly and breathing gets loud. I look at him to find him awake and eyes filled with fear.

"Oh my god," he says panting, "Oh my god. It was just a dream. Thank god."

"Are you okay, my love?" I ask.

"Uh...yeah," he says shaking away the fear off his face, "I'm okay. Just another bad dream. That's all."

"Would you like to talk about it?" I ask.

"I would prefer if we didn't," he replies, "At least...not right now."

"Okay," I say, "But just so you know, you can tell me anything. Okay?"

"Alright," he says. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door.

"Mr. Slingby?" a female voice asks, "It's Lizzy. May I come in?"

"Come in," I respond. She comes in the door with two bagels in her hand and walks over to me. She hands me one and packets of butter and cream cheese with a smile. She looks at Alan and gets startled a bit.

"Oh! Alan. You're awake," she says.

"Yeah," he says, "I just woke up not too long ago."

"Well, I didn't think you wanted to eat anything," she says, "So I didn't get you anything. I'm sorry."

"That's fine," he says, "I don't think I'll be eating much of anything today. My anxiety is way too high at the moment."

"Well, if you need anything, just let me know. Okay?" she says.

"Definitely," he says.

Suddenly, we hear a phone ring. Lizzy looks around for a bit before realizing it's her phone. She pulls it out of her pocket and answers it.

"Hello?" she says, "...Ciel? Ciel, what's wrong?.....But you're okay, right?........Well, why'd you intimidate him in the first place?...So what if it's your job?! You almost got yourself killed!...So you're almost here?.....Are you bringing Sebastian along?......Okay.......Okay...I'll see you here...Bye."

She hangs up the phone and slides it back in the pocket of her scrubs.

"I'm so sorry about that," she says, "My fiance just got hurt on the job."

"Your fiance is THE Ciel Phantomhive?!" Alan asks.

"Yes, unfortunately," she replies, "The man is always getting himself in trouble. Sometimes, to the point where he puts his life in danger."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I say, "Is he going to be okay though?"

"Yes, thankfully," she says, "He just got shot in the hand from guarding his face from the bullet. That's all. However, the bullet is still lodged in his hand. So I'll most likely need to pull the bullet out, get some stitches in there, and a splint in order to heal it. However, since this is a joint room, I may have to work on him here, since I can't exactly leave you unattended."

"It's cool," Alan says, "I've seen worse procedures. Keep in mind, I've been through three Angioplasties. Little scares me anymore."

"Okay," she says. Suddenly, almost on cue, the door opens to reveal a nurse.

"Miss Elizabeth, you have a patient waiting to be seen," she says.

"Bring him in here," Lizzy says, "I have the space."

"Right away," the nurse says closing the door. 

Lizzy takes the curtain that's separating the room in half and pushes it back, revealing another bed, bathroom, everything in Alan's room times two. She then goes to the cabinet and pulls out all she needs to tend to Ciel's wound. She take a loud deep breath as she sits down slowly on the bed. She bows her head and bows her head as I hear her breathing grow shallow.

"Lizzy?" I ask.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, "I should be upset. I'm a nurse for crying out loud!"

"Why don't you help her out," Alan whispers lifting himself off my chest, "I don't mind. Besides, we are medical examiners. Our jobs is to examine, identify, and at the end of the day, help our clients get the justice or reassurance they need."

I nod as I get up off the bed and walk over to Lizzy, sitting at her right side. I wrap my left arm around her shoulders.

"Lizzy," I say, "Please. Don't cry. It'll all be okay. I'm sure Ciel will be okay. Remember, it was only his hand. It could be worse. Think of the brighter side."

"I guess you're right," she says. Suddenly, another knock on the door.

"Come in," Alan says. The door opens to reveal Elanora and two other people.

One is fairly tall. Sleek, dark silver hair. Fair skin. Eyepatch over his right eye. Jacket and pants covered in dirt and dust. The other, probably taller that six foot, with pitch black hair and dressed in black.

"CIEL!" Lizzy says running and pulling him into her embrace.

"Ooof!" he says, "Lizzy. I'm fine."

"Do you know how much you scared me?!" she screams.

"How many times must I tell you?" he says as Lizzy releases her death grip, "This job comes with dangerous consequences. And I've accepted that fact."

"I know," she says, "I...I just don't want to find you dead. That's all...Come on. Lets mend you up." I get up off the bed and get out of the way as she escorts him in my direction. He sits on the bed as Lizzy gently take hold of his hand. She turns it in several different directions as he flinches in pain.

"The bullet has seemed to be lodged into your hand," she says, "Most likely caused some nerve damage as it clearly tore through the muscle tissue."

"How do you propose you fix it Miss. Midford?" Ciel's partner asks.

"I'll most likely have to pull the bullet out and stop the bleeding once it's out," she says, "Eric, you said you're a medical examiner, right?"

"Correct," I say uneasy, "Why do you ask?"

"I would like you to see if my statement if correct," she says. I walk over to them as I take hold of Ciel's hand lightly. I inspect it to see what all was done. At first, I had a general idea of what was wrong. But then, I started to lose my train of thought. With a million thing running through my head, I hear what I thought was my ears ringing. But then I feel something grab my left shoulder rather roughly, almost weighted down. I turn around to find that no one was in bed, but instead, a person.

It was Alan, standing behind me.  
~~~~~  
At the time you are reading this, we are officially at 150 reads! Oh my god! I'm so happy that all of you are enjoying my story. You know, lately I've been getting a whole lot of Writer's Block. And I thought that I should just stop with the story. But it's because of readers like YOU that I keep pushing to get better and chapters out. So thank you so much for sticking with me. Some don't like. Others keep up with all the updates. Whatever type of reader you are, you keep contributing to my story and keep coming back. And for that, I'm truly grateful. I don't ask for much, but if we can get this story to 25 kudos, I will know that people want more. And that will also motivate me. Once again, thanks for being patient with me and as always:

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


	12. Chapter 12: Handling Stress

{Alan's Pov}

I'm running down an alleyway, following Eric. It's clear that we are both running out of breath as we race down the cobblestone path. For a second, I forget why we're running...until I turn around. I see William behind, chasing us. I end up tripping on something and fall to the ground. Eric kneels to my side as we both look up to see William towering over us. Knife in hand.

"I told you, Eric," William says eerily, "Your relationship is unneeded for business."

"Don't.....Please........" I say. William gets rather close as Eric stands up, shielding me from the incoming danger.

"Don't do this............" I say as tears start coming out of my eyes, "Why?..."

I see William get a tighter grip on the knife as he gets even closer to Eric.

"What are you doing with that?" I ask as he raises the knife above his head, "....No...No.....Don't touch him. I beg of you."

Suddenly, William pushes Eric away from me to the ground. He kneels right on top of him and lands a stab on his stomach.

"Why are you doing this?!" I scream, ".....No."

Stab. Eric's skin turns white.

"No....."

Stab. Eric's body goes limp.

"NO!"  
*****  
My eyes bolt open as I notice that I'm breathless. Sweat runs down my face as I realize that I'm on Eric's chest again.

"Oh my god," I whisper to myself, "Oh my god. It was just a dream. Thank god."

"Are you okay, my love?" he asks me. I blush slightly at the thought of being called "love". In fact, I become at a loss for words for a bit.

"Uh...yeah," I say shaking my head quickly, trying to wipe away the red across my face, "I'm okay. Just another bad dream. That's all."

"Would you like to talk about it?" he asks.

"I would prefer if we didn't," I respond, "At least...not right now."

"Okay," he says disappointingly, "But just so you know, you can tell me anything. Okay?"

"Alright," I say guiltily. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door.

"Mr. Slingby?" a female voice asks from outside the door, "It's Lizzy. May I come in?"

"Come in," he says. She comes in the door with two bagels in her hand and walks over to us. She hands him one and packets of butter and cream cheese with a genuine smile. She looks down at me and jumps back, almost like she's been startled at the sight of me.

"Oh! Alan. You're awake," she says.

"Yeah," I say awkwardly, "I just woke up not too long ago."

"Well, I didn't think you wanted to eat anything," she says, "So I didn't get you anything. I'm sorry."

"That's fine," I say brushing it off, "I don't think I'll be eating much of anything today. My anxiety is way too high at the moment."

"Well, if you need anything, just let me know. Okay?" she says.

"Definitely," I say with a small smile.

Suddenly, we hear a phone ring. Lizzy looks around for a bit before realizing it's her phone. She pulls it out of her pocket and answers it.

"Hello?" she says, "...Ciel? Ciel, what's wrong?.....But you're okay, right?........Well, why'd you intimidate him in the first place?...So what if it's your job?! You almost got yourself killed!...So you're almost here?.....Are you bringing Sebastian along?......Okay.......Okay...I'll see you here...Bye."

She hangs up the phone and slides it back in the pocket of her scrubs. Her face, filled with worry.

"I'm so sorry about that," she says, "My fiance just got hurt on the job."

"Your fiance is THE Ciel Phantomhive?!" I screech.

"Yes, unfortunately," she replies, "The man is always getting himself in trouble. Sometimes, to the point where he puts his life in danger."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Eric says, "Is he going to be okay though?"

"Yes, thankfully," she says, "He just got shot in the hand from guarding his face from the bullet. That's all. However, the bullet is still lodged in his hand. So I'll most likely need to pull the bullet out, get some stitches in there, and a splint in order to heal it. However, since this is a joint room, I may have to work on him here, since I can't exactly leave you unattended."

"It's cool," I say, "I've seen worse procedures. Keep in mind, I've been through three Angioplasties. Little scares me anymore."

"Okay," she says. Suddenly, almost on cue, the door opens to reveal a nurse.

"Miss Elizabeth, you have a patient waiting to be seen," she says.

"Bring him in here," Lizzy says, "I have the space."

"Right away," the nurse says closing the door. 

Lizzy takes the curtain that's separating the room in half and pushes it back, revealing another bed, bathroom, everything in my room times two. She then goes to the cabinet and pulls out all she needs to tend to Ciel's wound. She take a loud deep breath as she sits down slowly on the bed. She bows her head and bows her head as I hear her breathing grow shallow. I start to feel awful inside. I can't imagine how it would feel if Eric were to risk his well being everyday. 

"Lizzy?" Eric asks.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, "I should be upset. I'm a nurse for crying out loud!"

"Why don't you help her out," I whisper into Eric's ear as I begin to lift myself off his chest, "I don't mind. Besides, we are medical examiners. Our jobs is to examine, identify, and at the end of the day, help our clients get the justice or reassurance they need."

He nods as he gets up off the bed and walk over to Lizzy, sitting at her right side. He wraps my left arm around her shoulders and 

"Lizzy," he says as I straighten myself out on my bed, "Please. Don't cry. It'll all be okay. I'm sure Ciel will be okay. Remember, it was only his hand. It could be worse. Think of the brighter side."

"I guess you're right," she says. Suddenly, another knock on the door.

"Come in," I say. The door opens to reveal Elanora and two people who I never thought I would get to see in my entire life.

THE Detective Ciel Phantomhive and Detective Sebastian Michaelis.

"CIEL!" Lizzy says running and pulling him into her embrace.

"Ooof!" he says, "Lizzy. I'm fine."

"Do you know how much you scared me?!" she screams.

"How many times must I tell you?" he says as Lizzy releases her death grip, "This job comes with dangerous consequences. And I've accepted that fact."

"I know," she says, "I...I just don't want to find you dead. That's all...Come on. Lets mend you up." I see Eric get off the bed and get out of the way as she escorts him in the room next to mine. He sits on the bed as Lizzy gently take hold of his hand. She turns it in several different directions as his face scrunches up in pain.

"The bullet has seemed to be lodged into your hand," she says, "Most likely caused some nerve damage as it clearly tore through the muscle tissue."

"How do you propose you fix it Miss. Midford?" Sebastian asks.

"I'll most likely have to pull the bullet out and stop the bleeding once it's out," she says, "Eric, you said you're a medical examiner, right?"

"Correct," he says, clearly uneasy, "Why do you ask?"

"I would like you to see if my statement if correct," she says. 

Eric begins inspecting the damage as he seems to be confused. As if he's having a hard time identifying the damage. I eventually get fed up of just standing back. I swing my legs to the left side of the bed as I quietly slide the IV pole closer to me. I mentally prepare myself as I grip the pole tightly. I lift myself off the bed and just stand for a moment, trying to gain balance before I start to move. I take a deep breath as I start to walk over to Eric. 

Once I start to get close, I can feel everything from my monitors disconnect. I curse under my breath as I trudge on until I'm directly behind Eric. I quickly grab his left shoulder as I feel my legs start to give out. I can feel him tense up as he slowly turns his head and sees me. We make eye contact as a small smile appears on my face. Suddenly, my legs start to wobble as I slowly begin to stumble to the ground. However, Eric reacts fast enough and catches me on the way down. He stands me up and slings my left arm across his shoulders for support.

"What were you thinking, Alan?!" Eric says raising his voice.

"You seemed stumped on what was wrong with him," I reply, "So I came over to help. To be honest, that was the farthest I've ever walked in a while."

"But that's not worth potentially injuring yourself over," he says sitting me down on the bed where Ciel is on.

"You're right," I say guiltily, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to help."

"How do you think a man in your condition can tell what's wrong with me if you yourself can't be in proper health," Ciel says. I can feel Eric's anger start to boil over. I quickly grab his left hand and squeeze it slightly as I look above my glasses, giving him a stern look.

"It's okay, Eric," I whisper to him, "I can handle this myself." After I feel his temper begin to fizzle out, I take a deep breath and face Ciel.

"Because," I say determined, "Just like my partner, I too am a medical examiner. And I have been for many years. And just because I've been out for five months doesn't mean I lost all my knowledge of my job. Didn't anyone tell you not to judge a book by it's cover? I'm a human being, just like you."

I see Ciel's body begin to grow tense as he's taken back from my previous statement. He sighs and slowly puts out his hand in my direction.

"Here," he says in defeat. I nod as I gently take his hand into my hands. 

I rotate it gently in different directions and eventually find where the bullet has been lodged into his skin. The bullet looks to have had been about two to two-and-a-half inches deep. Most likely to have caused nerve damage, torn muscle tissue, damaged bone, or all of the above. I turn his hand around so I could see the back of it. I see that the bullet has been lodged in so deep, that it's resting against his skin, causing a lump on his hand.

"Lizzy, how long have you been a nurse?" I ask turning to her.

"Only a few weeks unfortunately," she says.

"Okay," I say, "If you don't mind, I would like to take charge of this operation."

"YOU?! TAKE CHARGE?!" Ciel says in a panic.

"Ciel," Lizzy says, "I've only been a nurse for two weeks. I'm afraid I'll cause more harm that good."

"But, you're trained to do this..." he says losing hope.

"But so is he," she says, "Same treatment, different job."

Silence.

"Okay..." he says, "But if you make this worse-"

"I won't," I say cutting him off, "Put some faith in me."

I get a tighter grip on his hand as I piece together how I'm going to remove the bullet. I take a deep breath and turn to Lizzy.

"Get me the anestentic cream and a pair of tweezers," I say, "Then, I'm going to need a towel, medical thread, a needle, and tension gause."

"Got it!" she says rushing to the medical cabinet in the room and pulling out everything I need. She sets and the supplies on a nearby table as Lizzy hands me a pair of latex gloves as well. 

Once I'm properly set up, I start to channel my shakingness in hopes of me not coming off as weak to Ciel. After a solid ten seconds of shaking, I finally gain the strength to start with the procedure. And thankfully, Eric offered to help me if something were to go horribly wrong. I take hold Ciel's hand steady while Eric places the palm of his hand on Ciel fingers, pushing them down ever so slightly in order to stretch out his palm a bit to see the bullet clearly. I get a bit of anestentic cream and glaze it around the affected area. I let it set in a bit as I grab the tweezers and mentally prepare myself to start.

"Now, unless you have full trust in me, I would advise you to look away," I tell him. He nods and turns away, looking at Lizzy, who stands next to him. I lightly tap around the affected area to see if Ciel feels anything. Not even a flinch was emoted. Therefore, I get started. I grab the tweezers and eye up the wound to see how to get the bullet out. I get into the hole as I try to move the bullet around to see if it was loose. And thankfully, it was. Wasn't really loose, but loose enough to slowly pull it out. I get a grip on the bullet with the tweezers and call Lizzy over with the towel.

"Okay," I say, "So, I'm going to pull this out carefully. What I need you to do, Lizzy, is as soon as I take it out, I need you to get the towel on the wound and apply pressure. Otherwise, we're going to have a big mess on our hands."

"Okay," she says standing next to Eric. I reassure my grip as I begin to carefully pull it out, trying not to damage anything that hasn't been damaged already. I slowly shift it out until I have it halfway out of his hand.

"I'm ready to get this out," I tell Lizzy, "Get in close." She nods as she gets in close with the towel. I now shift it out so that three fourths are out. Blood starts to seep out slightly as I have to place the bullet back in slightly to stop it for getting worse.

"On the count of three," I say, "One.....Two.....Three!" I pull it out the rest of the way as Lizzy swoops in and applies pressure with the towel. Ciel's breathing begins to pick up.

"Stay calm," Eric reassures, "Everything's fine. You're gonna be okay." After five minutes, the towel is completely soaked in blood. Eric quickly grabs another towel and helps Lizzy switch it out to reapply pressure. After another five minutes, the bleeding stopped as Lizzy begins to clean up the affected area.

"Think you can handle the rest, Lizzy?" I ask.

"I can do the rest, definitely," she says. Meanwhile, Eric helps me off the bed and walks across the room back to my bed with my left arm slinged across his shoulders. Once I get in my bed and reposition my IV bag, I get under the blankets and begin to get comfortable as the door busts open to reveal Elanora in a panic. She starts to grab my charts, but then stops and stares at me.

"Oh," she says, "You're okay?"

"Yeah?" I say, "I mean...I think I am."

"So...why are your monitors flatlined?" she asks.

"Because they all disconnected when I was walking across the room," I admit.

"YOU WHAT?!" she screeches, startling me a bit, "WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"I needed help, Miss Elanora," Lizzy says, "I was afraid to do the procedure because I didn't want to damage Ciel anymore than he already was. But Alan and Eric helped me out."

"Alan, did you actually preform a procedure?" Elanora asks me with a shocked expression on her face.

"Yeah?" I say nervously, "Why? Was that a bad thing to do?"

"I just can't believe you were able to do that," she says,

"I think you're able to handle stress more than you think, Alan."  
~~~~~  
What's up, guys? So with the first half of the first semester over at school, I now have made time to write with a pattern of what days should be free and which are not. And with me constantly getting ideas for the story at the wrong times (Like in school), jotting them down really goes a long way. Whenever there's free time, I scribbling new ideas down to type when I get home. So don't worry. I should be able to push a chapter out every one to three weeks. So with that being said:

Thanks for Reading!

*JGC5436


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